All language subtitles for Pompeii The Dead Speak 1080p EN SUB

Narrator: IT’S THE MOST INFAMOUS
VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN HISTORY.

AN ENTIRE TOWN ENGULFED
IN ROCK AND ASH.

OVER 1,600 SOULS FROZEN IN TIME.

TODAY POMPEII IS
ONE OF THE WORLD’S

MOST IMPORTANT
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES...

A UNIQUE WINDOW
INTO A LOST ROMAN WORLD.

AT THE CENTER, THE VICTIMS,
CAUGHT IN THE BLAST,

THEIR LAST AGONIZING MOMENTS
PRESERVED FOREVER.

Man: SEARED INTO
THE MODERN IMAGINATION

IS THE DEATH OF A TOWN,

THE BODIES AND THE RUINS,
THE FINAL DAY OF POMPEII.

KEY TO BRINGING POMPEII
BACK TO LIFE

IS UNDERSTANDING
WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE.

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE
THAT INHABITED POMPEII,

AND THEY DO HAVE
STORIES TO TELL.

Narrator: NOW AN INTERNATIONAL
TEAM OF EXPERTS

IS USING SCIENCE
AND CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY

TO REVEAL THE GHOSTS OF POMPEII
LIKE NEVER BEFORE...

PEELING BACK THE LAYERS
TO FIND NEW EVIDENCE

AND DISPEL OLD MYTHS...

Woman #1: THIS WAS AS MUCH
A SURPRISE TO YOU

AS IT WAS TO ME?

Woman #2: ABSOLUTELY.

Narrator: INSIDE LONG LOCKED
STOREROOMS AND LABS,

THEY UNCOVER NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN
ARTIFACTS AND STORIES.

Man: WE FOUND THE GLADIATOR.

Narrator: WITH EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
TO POMPEII’S

MOST AMBITIOUS RESTORATION
PROJECT IN MODERN TIMES...

HOMES OFF LIMITS FOR DECADES
ARE NOW OPENED FOR US TO SEE.

Woman: AN INSCRIPTION
FOUND HERE TELLS US

THAT IT WAS SPECIFICALLY
FOR THE BEST PEOPLE.

Narrator: TO UNCOVER MORE,
A TEAM OF SPECIALIST ARCHITECTS,

ARMED WITH THE LATEST
LASER-MAPPING TECHNOLOGY,

CREATE STUNNING DIGITAL REPLICAS
OF SOME OF THE BUILDINGS

AND PRODUCE THE MOST ACCURATE
AND DETAILED 3D MAP

OF POMPEII EVER MADE,

REVEALING FOR THE FIRST TIME
AN UNRIVALED IMAGE

OF WHAT DAILY ROMAN LIFE
WAS REALLY LIKE.

FOR WHILE WE KNOW HOW THE PEOPLE
OF POMPEII DIED,

THIS IS
A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME CHANCE

TO REVEAL THEIR LIFE
BEFORE DEATH.

Man: POMPEII HAD A LIFE,
POMPEII HAD A BIOGRAPHY.

PEOPLE POPULATED THIS CITY,
PEOPLE LIVED HERE.

IT’S UP TO US TO UNDERSTAND
THE LIFE OF THE CITY

AS MUCH AS WE UNDERSTAND
ITS DEATH.

♪

Narrator: POMPEII,
SOUTHERN ITALY.

THE HISTORIC RUINS
NOT ONLY ATTRACT

MILLIONS OF VISITORS A YEAR,

BUT ALSO SCHOLARS
FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

AND NOW A TEAM
OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENTISTS,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ARCHITECTS

IS ASSEMBLING TO TRY
TO UNCOVER NEW SECRETS

ABOUT THE VICTIMS OF THIS
2,000-YEAR-OLD DISASTER.

WHAT MAKES POMPEII UNIQUE
IS THESE PLASTER CASTS--

VICTIMS CAUGHT IN THE ERUPTION
NOW FROZEN IN TIME.

WITH THEIR TWISTED POSES
AND GHASTLY GRINS,

THEIR LAST AGONIZING MOMENTS
ARE PLAIN TO SEE.

BUT UP TILL NOW, WE’VE ONLY
BEEN ABLE TO GUESS

AT WHAT THEIR STORIES WERE.

IS THIS A MOTHER STILL
CLINGING TO HER CHILD?

OR IS THIS A PREGNANT LADY,
APPARENTLY COVERING HER EYES?

FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME
THEY’RE BEING BROUGHT TOGETHER

INTO A SPECIALLY BUILT DISPLAY
IN THE TOWN’S AMPHITHEATER.

♪

[HAMMERING]

WITH EXCLUSIVE ACCESS,

OUR FORENSIC TEAM WILL DIGITALLY
PEEL BACK THE PLASTER,

LOOKING TO REVEAL
THE VICTIM WITHIN.

Woman: IT’S AN ADVENTURE,

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT
WE’RE GOING TO FIND,

AND THAT’S REALLY EXCITING.

Narrator: WHILE ARCHAEOLOGISTS
EXAMINE NEW AREAS OF POMPEII

BOTH ON THE GROUND
AND FROM THE AIR,

OUR EXPERT HISTORIANS
INVESTIGATE LOCKED STOREROOMS

AND THE ONGOING RESTORATIONS

TO REVEAL UNSEEN BUILDINGS
AND OBJECTS.

Woman: THIS ISN’T POSH FOOD.
EVERYBODY’S EATING THESE.

♪

Narrator: BUT FIRST,
HOW DID POMPEII AND ITS PEOPLE

END UP FROZEN IN TIME?

VOLCANOLOGIST PROFESSOR
DOUGAL JERRAM

IS HEADED TO THE SOURCE
OF POMPEII’S DESTRUCTION.

LOOMING OVER
THE TENS OF MILLIONS

WHO LIVE IN THE BAY OF NAPLES,
THIS IS MOUNT VESUVIUS,

STILL EMITTING OMINOUS FUMES.

TODAY IT’S ONE OF EUROPE’S
MOST DANGEROUS VOLCANOS.

Dougal Jerram:
THIS IS THE SMOKING GUN

THAT IN A.D. 79, OVER A PERIOD
OF ABOUT 24 HOURS,

CHANGED THE WHOLE FACE
OF VOLCANOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.

[EXPLOSION]

Narrator: ON AUGUST 24, 79 A.D.,

VESUVIUS EXPLODED IN WHAT IS NOW
KNOWN AS A PLINIAN ERUPTION,

AFTER THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT

OF THE ROMAN HISTORIAN
PLINY THE YOUNGER.

THE ERUPTION EJECTED NEARLY
10 BILLON TONS OF ASH AND ROCK

IN JUST 19 HOURS

AND RELEASED 100,000 TIMES
THE THERMAL ENERGY

OF THE HIROSHIMA BOMB.

YET AT FIRST, THE DANGER WAS
NOT IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS.

Jerram: THE FIRST REMNANTS OF
THAT IS A VERY, VERY THIN LAYER

OF DUST AND ASH, WHICH WOULD
HAVE RAINED DOWN ON PEOPLE.

VERY SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THOUGH,
THE WHOLE THING CHANGED.

A MASSIVE ERUPTION STARTED.

A COLUMN OF MATERIAL WENT UP
18 MILES UP INTO THE SKY,

FORMING A SORT
OF MUSHROOM CLOUD.

THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT THESE
PEOPLE WOULD NEVER HAVE SEEN

BEFORE IN THEIR LIVES,
AND THEY WOULD HAVE PANICKED.

Narrator: AS THE MUSHROOM CLOUD
GREW BIGGER,

IT BLOCKED OUT THE SUN,
PLUNGING POMPEII INTO DARKNESS.

THE FALLING PUMICE AND ASH
SLOWLY BURIED THE TOWN.

YET FOR THE FIRST 18 HOURS,
ESCAPE WAS STILL POSSIBLE,

AND MANY OF POMPEII’S
12,000 RESIDENTS FLED THE CITY.

BUT WHY AT LEAST 1,600 PEOPLE
STAYED PUT

IS ONE OF POMPEII’S
MOST ENDURING MYSTERIES.

AS THE HUGE COLUMN
OF ASH AND ROCK

CLIMBED TO NEARLY 20 MILES HIGH,

IT DESTABILIZED AND COLLAPSED,

SENDING DEADLY CLOUDS OF BURNING
DEBRIS HURTLING TOWARDS POMPEII.

FOR THOSE WHO REMAINED,
ESCAPE WAS NOW IMPOSSIBLE.

Jerram: NOW THESE ARE HOT
MIXTURES OF ROCK, ASH, DUST,

AND HOT AIR, BILLOWING
AND TURBULENTLY MIXING TOGETHER

AND CASCADING DOWN
THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

[RUMBLING]

THEY’LL HAVE TEMPERATURES
OF BETWEEN 200, 300,

TO MAYBE EVEN
500 DEGREES CENTIGRADE,

NEARLY 1,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

Narrator: KNOWN AS
A PYROCLASTIC FLOW,

THIS SEARING AVALANCHE OF DEATH
KILLED EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.

DOWN IN THE TOWN,

POMPEII’S TIMELINE
OF DESTRUCTION

IS STILL CLEARLY VISIBLE.

Jerram: THIS FIRST DEPOSIT
WE COME ACROSS

IS THIS WHITE PUMICE,

AND THIS IS THE ORIGINAL MAGMA

THAT WAS FEEDING THE VOLCANO
AT THE TIME.

THIS BIG ERUPTION COLUMN FIRING
THIS PUMICE OUT INTO THE SKY,

AND IT WAS JUST DROPPING
ON PEOPLE’S HEADS.

[THUNDER]

Narrator: CONTINUING TO SEARCH,

JERRAM FINDS EVIDENCE
OF THE DEADLY PYROCLASTIC FLOW.

Jerram: NOW THIS IS CLEARLY
A VERY DIFFERENT DEPOSIT.

THIS MATERIAL HAS GOT LOTS
AND LOTS OF BEDDING WITHIN IT.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE BEDDING
CLIMBING OVER EACH ANOTHER.

THAT’S CALLED CROSS BEDDING.

THAT TELLS ME THAT THIS HAD
TURBULENT CURRENT WITHIN IT.

Narrator: FOR 5 TO 6 HOURS,

MULTIPLE PYROCLASTIC FLOWS

KILLED EVERYTHING WITHIN
A 10-MILE RADIUS OF VESUVIUS.

POMPEII AND ITS PEOPLE

WERE LOST UNDER 20 FEET
OF PUMICE AND ASH,

WHICH QUICKLY HARDENED
TO SOLID ROCK.

WITHIN 50 YEARS
THE TOWN WAS FORGOTTEN,

EVEN DISAPPEARING FROM THE MAP.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED
TO THE VICTIMS OF POMPEII

THAT LEFT THEM
LOCKED IN PLASTER?

THE TOWN OF POMPEII LAY BURIED
FOR NEARLY 1,700 YEARS,

UNTIL ITS ACCIDENTAL REDISCOVERY

PROMPTED WIDESPREAD EXCAVATIONS
IN THE LATE 18th CENTURY.

ONLY THEN DID SOMETHING
REMARKABLE COME TO LIGHT.

ARCHAEOLOGIST
PROFESSOR KEVIN DICUS

EXPLORES A BLOCK
OF RECENTLY UNEARTHED HOUSES

IN SEARCH OF SOMETHING
UNIQUE TO POMPEII.

Kevin Dicus: THIS ASH SOLIDIFIED
TO THIS ROCK-LIKE SUBSTANCE,

LEAVING BEHIND
THESE MASSIVE VOIDS.

THIS ONE I CAN BARELY SEE
THE END OF,

IT’S GOT TO BE METERS LONG,

AND TO ME IT LOOKS
LIKE THE REMAINS

OF A WOODEN ROOF BEAM.

THE WOOD HAS LONG SINCE DECAYED,

BUT AN ARCHAEOLOGIST
FINDING ONE OF THESE

CAN THEN FILL THIS WITH PLASTER,

EVENTUALLY PEEL AWAY
THIS ROCK-LIKE ASH LAYER,

LEAVING BEHIND THE PLASTER CAST

OF WHATEVER REMAINED
INSIDE HERE.

ANYTHING ORGANIC DECAYED, BE IT
WOODEN ROOF BEAMS, DOORWAYS,

AND OF COURSE, THE BODIES
OF ANIMALS AND PEOPLE.

Narrator: THIS PHENOMENON
HAS MADE POMPEII AND ITS PEOPLE

WORLD FAMOUS.

KILLED BY THE PYROCLASTIC FLOW
AND BURIED BY FALLING ASH,

THE VICTIMS’ FLESH
QUICKLY ROTTED AWAY...

LEAVING BEHIND A PERFECT IMPRINT
OF THEIR BODY,

ALONG WITH THEIR BONES
AND TEETH.

BUT EVER SINCE
EARLY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

LIKE ITALIAN GIUSEPPE FIORELLI

BEGAN TO CREATE
THE GHOSTLY CASTS,

NO ONE HAS BEEN CERTAIN
HOW MANY REAL HUMAN REMAINS

WERE LEFT BEHIND.

Dicus: WE HAVE THESE BODIES’

VERY FINAL MOMENT
OF THEIR LIVES.

IT REALLY IS A MACABRE REMINDER
OF THAT LAST DAY AT POMPEII

AND THE CHAOS AND THE PANIC
OF THESE PEOPLE.

Narrator: POMPEII’S PHOTOGRAPHIC
ARCHIVE HOLDS A RARE RECORD

OF THE EARLY EXCAVATIONS
IN THE LATE 1800s.

AND SINCE VERY LITTLE
OTHER DOCUMENTATION

ABOUT THE CASTING PROCESS
SURVIVES,

THESE GRAINY IMAGES
ARE A VITAL CLUE

AS TO WHAT THE CASTS
MAY CONTAIN.

Dicus: FIORELLI DIDN’T
CREATE THESE CASTS

WITH THE SORT
OF SCIENTIFIC RIGOR

THAT WE WOULD COME
TO EXPECT AND DESIRE TODAY.

THERE’S NOT MUCH DOCUMENTATION
ON HOW HE DID IT.

INDEED, THESE BODY CASTS
WERE MORE FOR THE SHOW,

THE EXHIBIT OF POMPEII,

FOR THE VISITORS COMING TO SEE
AND BE THRILLED

BY THE DEATH OF AN ENTIRE CITY.

♪

Narrator: THIS DESIRE TO THRILL
THE EARLY VISITORS TO POMPEII

HAS LED TO NUMEROUS STORIES
BUILDING UP AROUND THE CASTS.

WHO WERE THEY,
WHAT WAS THEIR RELATIONSHIP,

AND WHAT WERE THEY DOING
IN THOSE FINAL MOMENTS?

IT’S BEEN LONG ASSUMED
THAT THOSE WHO DIDN’T FLEE

COULDN’T BECAUSE THEY WERE
TOO YOUNG, OLD OR INFIRM.

TODAY IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE
TO SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION.

Dicus: WE’RE NATURALLY INCLINED
TO CREATE THESE STORIES

ABOUT THESE PEOPLE.

AND WHEN WE GET TO THESE CASTS

AND WE’RE ABLE TO ANALYZE THEM
AND TO SCAN THEM

AND TO SEE ACTUALLY WHAT
IS INSIDE THESE REMAINS,

WE GET THIS NEW INFORMATION,

WE CAN TALK ABOUT THESE PEOPLE
IN BRAND NEW WAYS.

Narrator: OVER THE YEARS
THESE TWISTED, AGONIZING POSES

HAVE SPAWNED MULTIPLE STORIES
ABOUT THEIR IDENTITY.

IS THIS A BEGGAR
WITH HIS BEGGING BAG?

AND ARE THESE
AN EMBRACING COUPLE,

CLINGING TOGETHER
IN THEIR FINAL MOMENTS?

NOW OUR NEW SCIENTIFIC STUDY

IS LOOKING
TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

FOR THE FIRST TIME,

THE CASTS WILL UNDERGO
SERIOUS FORENSIC STUDY.

♪

[POWER DRILL WHIRRING]

THIS CT SCANNER,

NORMALLY USED TO DIAGNOSE
DISEASE IN LIVING PATIENTS,

WILL PEER BENEATH THE PLASTER
TO LOOK FOR EVIDENCE.

FORENSIC ARCHAEOLOGIST
DR. ESTELLE LAZER

WANTS TO KNOW WHO THE VICTIMS
REALLY WERE,

AS WELL AS WHO THEY WERE NOT.

Estelle Lazer:
IT’S BECOME ACCEPTED WISDOM

THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS ALL HAVE
CHARACTERS, IF NOT NAMES,

SO I FEEL THERE’S A--
NOT INTENTIONALLY--

BUT THERE’S DEFINITELY
A DISRESPECT.

IF YOU SUPERIMPOSE LIVES
AND PERSONALITIES

THAT THESE PEOPLE NEVER HAD,

THAT KIND OF TAKES AWAY
THEIR LIVES

EVEN MORE THAN THE DISASTER DID.

MY AIM IS TO GIVE THEM BACK
THE LIVES THEY ORIGINALLY HAD

AND TO LEARN A BIT MORE

ABOUT HOW THESE VICTIMS
OF A MASS DISASTER

LIVED AND DIED.

Narrator: JOINING LAZER IS

WORLD FAMOUS BRITISH CLASSICIST
PROFESSOR MARY BEARD.

BEARD HAS SPENT OVER 40 YEARS
STUDYING POMPEII.

FOR HER, THE COLLISION
OF ANCIENT AND THE HIGH TECH

IS FASCINATING.

Mary Beard: THERE’S SOMETHING
VERY STRIKING

ABOUT A DEAD ROMAN
OF 2,000 YEARS AGO

BEING PUT INTO
A STATE-OF-THE-ART CT SCANNER.

Narrator:
THE SOPHISTICATED SCANNER

TAKES A SERIES OF X-RAY SLICES

THAT ARE DIGITALLY
STITCHED TOGETHER

TO CREATE A 360-DEGREE MODEL.

Beard: THE PEOPLE
WHO MADE THIS CAST

WOULD JUST NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
CONCEIVE OF WHAT WE CAN NOW DO.

[BEEPING]

Narrator: THE FIRST CASTS
TO BE SCANNED

ARE TWO OF THE EARLIEST
EVER MADE.

DISCOVERED IN THE LATE 1800s,

BOTH HAVE BUMPS
IN THE STOMACH AREA,

WHICH HAVE INSPIRED STORIES
ABOUT PREGNANT LADIES.

IT’S A HEARTBREAKING SCENARIO

TO THINK THAT BOTH MOTHERS
AND THEIR UNBORN CHILDREN

PERISHED IN THE DISASTER.

NOW, ALMOST 2,000 YEARS LATER,

THE SCIENTISTS MAY JUST BE
ON THE VERGE OF DISCOVERING

IF THESE STORIES ARE TRUE.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

♪

THE STUDY OF THE CASTS IS JUST
PART OF A MUCH WIDER PROJECT

TO RESTORE THE FABRIC
OF POMPEII.

SINCE EXCAVATIONS BEGAN IN 1748,

EXPERTS HAVE BEEN UNEARTHING
VAST AMOUNTS OF EVIDENCE

ABOUT HOW THE ROMANS LIVED.

SO MUCH SO, THAT MOST
OF WHAT WE KNOW TODAY

ABOUT THE ANCIENT ROMAN WORLD

COMES FROM POMPEII.

BUT POMPEII’S SEVEN MILLION
SQUARE FEET OF RUINS

ARE UNDER THREAT FROM
THE RAVAGES OF TIME, WEATHER,

AND MILLIONS OF VISITORS
A YEAR.

NOW A FIVE-YEAR,
$145 MILLION PROGRAM,

KNOWN AS
THE GREAT POMPEII PROJECT,

IS RACING TO RESTORE AND
STABILIZE THE FRAGILE RUINS.

ALL OVER POMPEII TEAMS
OF EXPERTS ARE HARD AT WORK...

INJECTING THE PRECIOUS WALLS
WITH RESIN TO STABILIZE THEM,

CLEANING THE DELICATE
MOSAIC FLOORS,

REPAIRING ORNATE COLONNADES,

EVEN USING HIGH-TECH
LASER TECHNOLOGY

TO CLEAN DIRT
FROM FRAGILE MURALS.

RESTORING 2,000-YEAR-OLD
DECORATIONS,

WHICH WERE PRESERVED
UNDER TONS OF VOLCANIC ASH,

IS A HUGE CHALLENGE.

Ambra Tomeucci: ONE OF
THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU CAN FIND

WHILE YOU RESTORE A FRESCO

IS TO TRY TO FIND
THE RIGHT MATERIALS.

YOU HAVE TO FIND
THE RIGHT MIXTURE

THAT CLEAN THE FRESCO

BUT NOT DAMAGE
THE ORIGINAL PAINTINGS.

Narrator: OUR STUDY
IS GOING A STAGE FURTHER

THAN PHYSICAL RESTORATION...

AS SPECIALIST ARCHITECTS

ARMED WITH 3D LASER
SCANNING TECHNOLOGY

CREATE PERFECT DIGITAL REPLICAS
OF MANY OF THE BUILDINGS.

THESE ALLOW US
TO INVESTIGATE POMPEII

FROM A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.

FLYING THROUGH SPACES,
WE CAN SEE HOW THEY CONNECT.

♪

AND BY LOOKING DOWN
FROM IMPOSSIBLE VIEWPOINTS,

WE CAN APPRECIATE THE SCALE
AND DETAIL OF THE DECORATION.

THIS SAME TECHNIQUE IS ALSO
BEING USED FROM THE AIR

TO BUILD UP THE MOST
COMPREHENSIVE MAP

OF POMPEII EVER CREATED.

WITH A POPULATION
OF ABOUT 12,000,

POMPEII WAS KNOWN AS
AN UPMARKET ROMAN RETREAT,

WHERE THE WEALTHY VISITORS
WOULD FREQUENT

ITS NUMEROUS TAVERNS, BARS,
PUBLIC BATHS, AND BROTHELS.

FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS LIKE DICUS,
THESE SCANS ARE INVALUABLE

IN HELPING US UNDERSTAND
HOW THE TOWN WORKED.

Dicus: IT’S VERY DIFFICULT

TO MOVE AROUND THE RUINS
PHYSICALLY

AND REALLY GET A SENSE
OF WHAT YOU’RE SEEING.

HERE WE HAVE A BRAND NEW WAY
OF VISUALIZING THE SITE,

THREE-DIMENSIONALLY,
MOVING AROUND THE SPACE

IN WAYS THAT WE CANNOT DO
ACTUALLY ON THE GROUND.

WE CAN GET A SENSE OF
THE SIGHTLINES OF THE HOUSES

AND THE SPACES
OUTSIDE THE HOUSES.

WE GET A SENSE OF
THE DECORATION IN CONTEXT.

AND WE CAN DO SOMETHING

THAT NO VISITOR
COULD EVER PHYSICALLY DO.

WE CAN ACTUALLY LEAVE THE HOUSE,

RISE ABOVE AND SEE THE HOUSE
IN A WIDER CONTEXT,

SEE IT IN THE CONTEXT
OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

IN WHICH IT IS SITUATED,

SEE IT IN THE CONTEXT
OF THE CITY ITSELF.

Narrator: NOW,
AS THE PHYSICAL RESTORATION,

ALONG WITH OUR DIGITAL SURVEY,
OPENS UP NEW AREAS FOR RESEARCH,

WE’RE ALL SET TO REVEAL
THE LIFESTYLES

OF POMPEII’S RICH AND FAMOUS.

POMPEII’S MASSIVE
RESTORATION PROGRAM

IS OPENING UP BUILDINGS
THAT HAVE BEEN CLOSED FOR YEARS.

THIS HOUSE WAS EXCAVATED
IN THE 1920s.

FROM AN INSCRIPTION,
WE KNOW IT ONCE BELONGED

TO AN INFLUENTIAL POLITICIAN
CALLED PAQUIS PROCULUS.

HERE THE RESTORATION TEAM
HAS METICULOUSLY CLEANED

AND PROTECTED
THE STUNNING MOSAIC FLOOR,

SO NOW CAN WE APPRECIATE
THE MAGNIFICENT DECORATIONS.

Dicus: THIS MASSIVE
RESTORATION PROJECT

HAS ALLOWED US TO ENTER HOUSES

THAT HAVE BEEN CLOSED OFF
FOR DECADES,

HAVE ALLOWED US TO SEE
ART AND MOSAICS

IN AN ENTIRELY NEW LIGHT.

Narrator: AS PART
OF POMPEII’S ELITE,

WE CAN IMAGINE PROCULUS

ENTERTAINING HIS IMPORTANT
FRIENDS IN THIS LAVISH ATRIUM,

PROTECTED BY HIS FEARSOME
GUARD DOG.

[DOG GROWLS AND BARKS]

Dicus: I’VE BEEN WORKING
AT POMPEII FOR TEN SEASONS,

AND I MYSELF HAVE NEVER BEEN
IN THIS HOUSE,

AND I CAN ONLY IMAGINE
BEING AN ANCIENT VISITOR,

SEEING THIS ABSOLUTELY
OVERWHELMING ATRIUM,

THE RICHLY PAINTED WALLS
WITH THE HUES OF RED AND YELLOW,

AND OF COURSE THIS MOSAIC THAT
COVERS THE ENTIRE ATRIUM FLOOR.

Narrator: USING OUR SCANS,
WE CAN NOW APPRECIATE

THE BEAUTY AND SCALE
OF THIS FLOOR.

AND ONCE THROUGH THE HOUSE,

WE ARRIVE AT THIS
ELEGANT COURTYARD,

LEADING TO THESE
BRIGHTLY COLORED ROOMS.

♪

RISING UP WE CAN SEE
THAT PROCULUS’S HOUSE

IS CENTRALLY LOCATED
IN AN UPMARKET PART OF TOWN.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

BACK IN THE INVESTIGATION,
THE FIRST SCAN RESULTS ARE IN.

THE FIRST TWO CASTS

HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ASSUMED
TO BE EXPECTANT MOTHERS.

IT’S HEARTBREAKING TO THINK
HOW HEAVILY PREGNANT WOMEN

MIGHT HAVE DESPERATELY TRIED
TO ESCAPE THE ERUPTION.

NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME,

OUR EXPERTS ARE HOPING THE SCANS
WILL REVEAL THE SKELETONS

AND PERHAPS EVEN THE REMAINS
OF AN UNBORN CHILD.

BUT THE RESULTS ARE STARTLING.

Lazer: IT’S PRETTY MUCH EMPTY.

Beard: THIS WAS AS MUCH
OF A SURPRISE TO YOU

AS IT WAS TO ME.

Lazer: ABSOLUTELY. YOU NEVER
EXPECT TO FIND THAT.

Narrator: VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN
ABOUT THE EXACT PROCESS

USED BY THE 19th CENTURY
ARCHAEOLOGISTS

TO PRODUCE THE CASTS.

AND NOW THE OBVIOUS QUESTION
IS WHERE ARE THE BONES?

LAZER IS SURE THIS CAST
IS NOT A FAKE,

BECAUSE BONE FRAGMENTS DO STILL
REMAIN IN ONE OF THE HANDS.

Lazer: WHAT GAVE ME HOPE WHEN WE
FIRST TOOK IT TO THE CT SCANNER

WAS THERE ARE ACTUALLY SOME
OF THE HAND BONES STILL IN SITU.

Narrator: BUT THE RESULTS
OF THE SECOND CAST

MAY SHED SOME LIGHT
ON THIS NEW MYSTERY.

AGAIN, ALMOST COMPLETELY
EMPTY OF BONES,

THIS TIME THE SKELETON HAS BEEN
REPLACED BY IRON RODS.

Lazer: WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT

ARE A SERIES OF RODS
AND BRACKETS

THAT ARE ACTING AS REINFORCING,

ESPECIALLY AROUND
THE HIPS AND THAT.

I ASSUME THEY COULDN’T CAST IT,
SO THEY’VE REINFORCED IT,

AND WE JUST DON’T KNOW,

BECAUSE IT HASN’T BEEN
DOCUMENTED WELL ENOUGH

TO KNOW HOW CREATIVE
A RESTORATION WE’RE LOOKING AT.

Narrator: WITH NO REAL BONES
INSIDE EITHER OF THESE CASTS,

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY
IF THESE WERE EVEN WOMEN,

LET ALONE PREGNANT.

AND THE BUMPS COULD JUST BE
THEIR BUNCHED-UP CLOTHING.

BUT THE DISCOVERY OF THE RODS
REWRITES THE STORY

OF HOW THE CASTS
WERE ORIGINALLY MADE.

LAZER NOW THINKS
THE 19th CENTURY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

STRUGGLED TO KEEP
THE FRAGILE PLASTER TOGETHER

DURING THE CASTING PROCESS.

SO, TO PRESERVE THE FORM
OF THE VICTIMS,

THEY REPLACED THE BONES
WITH METAL REINFORCING RODS

BEFORE POURING LIQUID PLASTER.

FOR MARY BEARD, THIS APPROACH
TO THE HUMAN ARCHAEOLOGY

FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE WAY
THE WHOLE OF POMPEII

HAS BEEN EXCAVATED AND RESTORED.

Beard: YOU GO ROUND POMPEII NOW,

AND YOU GET THE IMPRESSION THAT
YOU ARE WALKING INTO A HOUSE,

AND IN A SENSE YOU ARE,
IT IS AS THE HOUSES WERE,

BUT IF YOU SEE PICTURES
OF WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE

WHEN THEY WERE EXCAVATED,

I MEAN, THEY LOOKED LIKE HOUSES

THAT HAD BEEN DESTROYED
BY A VOLCANO.

AND IN A WAY I SUPPOSE
THESE CASTS ARE A BIT THE SAME.

THAT IS, THEY REALLY ARE
THE VICTIMS,

BUT IN ORDER TO PRESENT THEM
TO US AS THE VICTIMS,

YOU HAVE TO DO MORE WORK
ON THEM THAN...

THAN I THINK PEOPLE
LIKE TO IMAGINE.

Narrator:
WHAT’S NOW BECOMING APPARENT

IS THAT UNCOVERING THE TRUTH
ABOUT LIFE IN POMPEII

IS A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE.

BUT UNDERSTANDING
THE TRUE NATURE

OF THE PROBLEMS FACED
BY THE EARLY EXCAVATORS

IS A VALUABLE FIRST STEP.

♪

POMPEII WAS A PROVINCIAL
SMALL TOWN,

AND LIKE MANY SMALL TOWNS
IN AMERICA,

IT WAS BUILT ON A GRID SYSTEM.

OUR AERIAL SCANS CAN NOW REVEAL

POMPEII’S ORGANIZED
AND WELL-PLANNED ANATOMY.

Dicus: NOW, THIS 3D PERSPECTIVE
FROM ABOVE

GIVES US A REALLY GOOD SENSE

OF HOW A ROMAN PROVINCIAL TOWN
WAS PLANNED.

WE CAN SEE VERY CLEARLY
THE OUTLINE

OF THE FORTIFICATION WALL,

WE SEE THE ZONING
INSIDE THIS TOWN,

WITH MAJOR THOROUGHFARES
CRISSCROSSING,

RUNNING TOWARD THE CITY GATES.

FURTHER ALONG TO THE WEST, WE
HAVE THE CLASSIC ROMAN FORUM.

THIS WAS THE POLITICAL,
ECONOMIC AND RELIGIOUS PART

OF A ROMAN TOWN.

♪

TO THE EAST OF THE CITY,

THE GRAND PALAESTRA,
THE CITY PARK,

WHERE PEOPLE COULD
CONGREGATE, EXERCISE.

AND RIGHT NEXT DOOR,
THE AMPHITHEATER,

WHERE GLADIATORIAL COMBAT
TOOK PLACE.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Narrator: POMPEII’S AMPHITHEATER
IS THE OLDEST SURVIVING

FROM THE ENTIRE ROMAN WORLD.

AS THE TOWN’S HUB,

IT’S WHERE TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF ORDINARY ROMANS

WOULD GATHER,
EXPECTING TO SEE BLOOD.

ROMAN HISTORIAN
ANDREW WALLACE-HADRILL

RETRACES THEIR STEPS.

IN THE ENTRANCE TUNNEL
HE FINDS AN INSCRIPTION

THAT MAKES A PROUD BOAST
OF WHAT LAY AHEAD.

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill:
AND THEY DESCRIBE IT HERE

AS SPECTACULA,
A PLACE OF SPECTACLE.

IT’S DEDICATED "IN PERPETUOM,"
IN PERPETUITY.

THAT’S QUITE A DANGEROUS THING
TO PUT UP IN AN INSCRIPTION.

HOW CAN YOU GUARANTEE
PERPETUITY?

WELL, THANKS TO VESUVIUS,

THIS AMPHITHEATER HAS GAINED
SOMETHING QUITE LIKE PERPETUITY

2,000 YEARS LATER.

Narrator:
TODAY THE CROWDS FLOCK HERE

TO SEE THE CASTS
IN THE PYRAMID DISPLAY.

[CROWD CHEERING]

BUT 2,000 YEARS AGO,
THE ARENA WOULD HAVE BEEN PACKED

WITH OVER 20,000 ROMANS
BAYING FOR BLOOD.

ALONG WITH FIGHTING EACH OTHER,

THE GLADIATORS WOULD HAVE
SLAYED WILD BEASTS,

LIKE WOLVES AND DEER
FOUND IN THE SURROUNDING HILLS,

ALTHOUGH THE HOLLYWOOD IMAGE
OF GLADIATORS

BATTLING LIONS AND TIGERS

IS A LITTLE FAR-FETCHED
FOR PROVINCIAL POMPEII.

Wallace-Hadrill:
DOWN HERE, WHERE THERE’S
CRUNCHY GRAVEL TODAY,

THERE WAS SAND IN ANTIQUITY--
"ARENA," THE ARENA.

THAT IS WHAT YOU NEED
TO MOP UP THE BLOOD

OF THE GLADIATORS,
THE WILD BEASTS.

Narrator: THE GAMES WERE FREE
AND DESIGNED FOR EVERYONE.

ORGANIZED AND PAID FOR
BY LOCAL POLITICIANS

IN RETURN FOR POLITICAL FAVOR,

THEY ATTRACTED THE COMPLETE
SOCIAL MAKEUP OF POMPEII.

Wallace-Hadrill:
THESE ARE THE VERY BEST SEATS

IN THE AMPHITHEATER.

THIS WHERE YOU WANT TO BE--

CLOSE TO THE ACTION,
CLOSE TO THE FRONT,

AND THE POSHEST PEOPLE IN TOWN
GET THEIR OWN ENCLOSURE.

THERE THEY ARE
WITH THIS WONDERFUL VIEW,

ENJOYING THE SPECTACLE,

BUT THEY ARE ALSO
THE SPECTACLE THEMSELVES.

THEY COME HERE NOT JUST TO SEE,
BUT TO BE SEEN.

Narrator: BUT WHILE THE FAT CATS
ENJOYED RINGSIDE SEATS,

IT WAS UP AT THE BACK THAT YOU
WOULD FIND THE REAL POMPEIIANS.

HERE THE EVERYDAY WORKING MAN
WITH HIS FAMILY

WOULD MAKE THE MOST NOISE
AS THINGS GOT GORY.

Wallace-Hadrill:
WHAT WE CAN SEE IS BLOOD,

YOU CAN SEE THE BLOOD
SPLASHING ON THE SAND.

THE EXCITEMENT OF HAVING
10,000 PEOPLE

WATCHING THE FIGHT TOGETHER,

AND, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE
FOLLOWING EVERY MOMENT,

AND THEN SOMEONE STANDS UP
TO SEE BETTER,

AND EVERYONE STANDS UP,

AND YOU’VE GOT A MASS OF PEOPLE
IN A STATE OF HIGH EXCITEMENT.

Narrator: IN A SMALL TOWN
LIKE POMPEII,

GLADIATORS FIGHTING TO THE DEATH
WAS PROBABLY RARE.

AS HIGHLY TRAINED ATHLETES, THEY
WERE TOO EXPENSIVE TO WASTE.

THESE GAMES WERE ORGANIZED MORE
LIKE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING,

PURELY FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

[SWORDS CLASH, MAN SCREAMS]

[CROWD CHEERS]

YET LIFE FOR A GLADIATOR WAS
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND BRUTAL.

SERIOUS INJURY AND DEATH WERE
PART OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION.

IN ONE OF POMPEII’S
ARCHAEOLOGICAL STORAGE ROOMS

WE FIND THE ANONYMOUS
SKELETAL REMAINS

OF SOME OF THE 1,600 VICTIMS.

PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY
MACIEJ HENNEBERG

SEARCHES FOR A SKELETON

HE THINKS BEARS THE SCARS
OF A FIGHTING MAN.

Maciej Henneberg:
YEAH, THESE ARE ALL SKULLS.

HOW ABOUT THIS?

THIS LOOKS LIKE A COMPLETE,
LOOKS LIKE A COMPLETE SKELETON.

OOH-HOO, YES, THAT IS THE MAN.

WELL, HERE WE HAVE A SKULL.

WE CAN TELL IT’S
THE SKULL OF A MAN,

BECAUSE OF HIS VERY LARGE
ATTACHMENT

OF THE STRONGEST MUSCLE
OF THE NECK.

Narrator: DECODING THE BONES

SHOWS HENNEBERG THE LEVEL
OF PUNISHMENT THIS MAN ENDURED.

Henneberg: BONE REFLECTS
WHAT STRESSES ARE PUT ON IT.

AND OBVIOUSLY IF SOMEBODY
PUTS MORE STRESS

BY FIGHTING WITH
SWORDS AND SPEARS,

THERE WILL BE MORE
BONE REMODELING.

Narrator: HENNEBERG
COMPARES THE SIZE

OF LEFT AND RIGHT ARM BONES.

THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE
SUGGESTS

THESE ARE THE BONES
OF A CHAMPION.

Henneberg: LOOK, LEFT AND RIGHT
BONES OF THE SAME PERSON.

THEY DIFFER AS MUCH AS NOW
THEY DIFFER IN ROGER FEDERER.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH PERHAPS
HIS VICTORIES

DIDN’T COME WITHOUT COST.

Henneberg: HERE WE HAVE
A RIGHT RIB,

AND IT HAS TWO
HEALED FRACTURES--

ONE HERE ON THE SIDE
OF THE CHEST,

AND ONE HERE CLOSER
TO THE FRONT OF THE CHEST,

CAUSED BY A BLOW
WITH A BLUNT BIGGER OBJECT.

Narrator: EVERY PART
OF THE GLADIATOR’S SKELETON

REVEALS HE WAS A FORCE
TO BE RECKONED WITH.

THIS OVERDEVELOPED ARM BONE
IMPLIES HE DEALT A HEAVY BLOW.

Henneberg: THIS SPUR
IN MOST PEOPLE NEVER DEVELOPS.

THIS MOVEMENT MUST HAVE BEEN
VERY STRONGLY EXERCISED.

Narrator:
WITH ALL THIS STRENGTH,

IT’S EASY TO IMAGINE OUR
GLADIATOR AS A TOWERING GIANT.

Henneberg:
WHEN WE MEASURED THOSE BONES,

HE WAS 20 CENTIMETERS
SHORTER THAN I AM,

SO IF HE WOULD--IF WE WERE
LOOKING FACE TO FACE,

HE WOULD BE LOOKING
AT ME LIKE THIS.

Narrator:
AT JUST 5 FOOT, 2 INCHES,

OUR GLADIATOR WAS SHORT,
BUT UNDOUBTEDLY FORMIDABLE.

HE AND THE GLADIATORIAL GAMES
WERE AN INTEGRAL PART OF LIFE

HERE IN POMPEII.

OUR SCANNING TEAM IS
ABOUT TO INVESTIGATE

THE MOST POIGNANT SET
OF POMPEII’S CASTS.

AS THE ERUPTION INTENSIFIED,

A GROUP THAT LOOKS LIKE A FAMILY
TOOK SHELTER IN A BASEMENT,

ONLY TO BE BURIED IN ASH.

BUT ARE THEY REALLY A FAMILY,

AND COULD THEIR CASTS CONTAIN
THE EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT?

IN THE ANCIENT ROMAN
TOWN OF POMPEII,

A MAJOR FORENSIC STUDY IS
LOOKING TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH

ABOUT SOME OF THE VICTIMS.

ONE OF THE MOST POIGNANT
GROUPS OF VICTIMS

WAS DISCOVERED HUDDLED TOGETHER
IN THIS BASEMENT,

PERHAPS ASSUMING IT WAS
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE

AS THE TOWN WAS ENGULFED
IN VOLCANIC ASH AND ROCK.

THE STORY GOES THERE WAS
A MIDDLE-AGED COUPLE,

WITH MOM STILL CLUTCHING
HER YOUNG CHILD,

AND MOST HEARTBREAKING OF ALL,
A TODDLER,

THE TINY CAST A MOVING REMINDER

OF THE INDISCRIMINATE
NATURE OF DISASTER.

Beard: WHEN YOU LOOK
STRAIGHT AT ITS FACE,

YOU NOTICE IT’S GOT
SORT OF CHUBBY BABY LIPS,

I MEAN, IT’S LOOKING
RIGHT AT YOU.

AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE
A HEART OF STONE

NOT TO BE, YOU KNOW,
REALLY TOUCHED BY THIS.

Lazer: THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST
POIGNANT PIECES,

BECAUSE IT’S VERY EVOCATIVE,

WE’VE GOT A VERY SMALL CHILD
WHO DIED IN THIS DISASTER

WELL BEFORE ITS TIME.

Narrator: WITH THE IMPRINT
OF THE TODDLER’S CLOTHING

STILL CLEARLY VISIBLE,

BEARD IS INTRIGUED
BY THE STRANGE BLOB

ON THE CHILD’S CHEST.

Beard: I MEAN, THIS HERE,
WHAT I’M QUITE INTERESTED IN

IS FINDING OUT IS THAT HIS BELT,
OR HER BELT, WHICH HAS COME UP?

IS THAT A CLASP?

Lazer: WE DON’T KNOW.
WE’LL WAIT AND SEE.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

Narrator: AS OUR TODDLER SLIDES
INTO THE CT SCANNER,

WE CAN START TO THINK ABOUT
THE LIFE OF A CHILD IN POMPEII.

BUT WITH VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY
OF CHILDREN’S TOYS OR CLOTHES

EVER FOUND AMONG THE RUINS,

ARCHAEOLOGIST
DR. KATHERINE HUNTLEY

THINKS SHE CAN FIND CLUES
AS HOW POMPEII’S CHILDREN LIVED

BY EXAMINING THE TOWN’S
ANCIENT WALLS.

Katherine Huntley:
NOW, WE ASSOCIATE GRAFFITI

WITH POVERTY, WITH CRIME,

WITH DEGRADATION,

BUT IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

WHERE PAPER WASN’T
READILY AVAILABLE,

IT WAS AN IMPORTANT FORM OF
COMMUNICATION AND EXPRESSION.

Narrator: FOR HUNTLEY,
GRAFFITI CAN CONNECT US

WITH SOME OF POMPEII’S
LOST VOICES.

Huntley: HERE WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE
OF ANCIENT TAGGING.

FAUSTUS HAS WRITTEN HIS NAME...

AND DOWN HERE, AURELIUS.

Narrator: WHILE IT LOOKS LIKE
OLDER POMPEIIANS

WERE USING GRAFFITI LIKE
WE USE TEXTING AND FACEBOOK,

HUNTLEY FINDS AN IMAGE THAT
CAN ONLY HAVE BEEN SCRATCHED

BY POMPEII’S MOST ELUSIVE
GROUP--KIDS--

AS SURELY THIS LITTLE GUY
CAN ONLY HAVE BEEN MADE

BY THE HAND OF A YOUNG CHILD.

Huntley:
KIDS ACROSS TIME AND SPACE

DRAW THE SAME WAY.

HOW THEY DRAW IS LINKED TO
THEIR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT,

AND SO THE CHILD IS EMPHASIZING
WHAT IS IMPORTANT.

AND SO THAT’S WHY THE HEAD
IS THE MAIN FOCUS.

KIDS ALSO REALLY LIKE TO DRAW
THINGS THAT RADIATE OUTWARD.

Narrator: FOR HUNTLEY,
THE LOCATION OF THIS GRAFFITI

CAN TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT
CHILDHOOD IN POMPEII WAS LIKE.

Huntley: OUT OF ALL THE
CHILDREN’S GRAFFITI IN POMPEII,

MORE THAN HALF OF IT
IS FOUND IN PUBLIC SPACES,

SHOWING THAT KIDS
HAD ACTIVE LIVES

OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE

AND THEY WEREN’T BOUND
TO DOMESTIC SPACES.

Narrator:
BACK IN THE INVESTIGATION,

THE TWISTED NATURE OF THE CASTS

MEANS NOT ALL WILL FIT
INTO OUR CT SCANNER.

SO ESTELLE’S TEAM HAS DECAMPED

TO WHERE THE CASTS
ARE ON DISPLAY.

Lazer: YEAH, IT’S REALLY GOOD.

Narrator: HERE THEY CAN FOCUS
ON THE REST OF FAMILY GROUP--

THE FATHER AND THE MOTHER, WHO
IS STILL HOLDING A YOUNG CHILD.

THE TEAM IS MADE UP
OF A RADIOGRAPHER,

A FORENSIC DENTIST
AND A FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST.

THEY’RE ALL VETERANS
OF MODERN MASS TRAGEDIES,

LIKE THE 2002 BOMBINGS IN BALI
AND THE INDONESIAN TSUNAMI.

Lazer: WE’RE LOOKING
FOR THE SAME KINDS OF FEATURES

THAT WE’D LOOK FOR

IF WE WERE LOOKING
AT A MODERN MASS DISASTER.

SO WE WANT TO IDENTIFY
INDIVIDUALS,

WE WANT TO FIND OUT
WHAT SEX THEY WERE,

WHAT AGE THEY WERE
WHEN THEY DIED.

Man #1: WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Man #2: PELVIS.

Narrator: THIS HIGH-POWERED
PORTABLE X-RAY ALLOWS THE TEAM

TO FOCUS ON VERY SPECIFIC PARTS
OF THE CASTS.

Stijn Luyck: BONE IS WHITE,
SOFT TISSUE IS MORE GRAY,

METAL IS GOING TO BE
COMPLETELY WHITE,

BECAUSE HARDLY ANYTHING
GOES THROUGH IT.

Narrator: BUT THE DENSE PLASTER
IS PROVING PROBLEMATIC.

Lazer: IT’S ALL
WITHIN THE FRAME,

BUT THE PLASTER IS REALLY THICK,
YOU CAN’T SEE IT.

Luyck: THE BIGGEST PROBLEM
IS THAT BONE AND PLASTER

HAVE THE SAME DENSITY,

SO WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO FIND
IS PLASTER IN PLASTER.

Narrator:
WITHOUT THE COMPLETE SKELETONS,

ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO AGE THE
VICTIMS IS THROUGH THEIR TEETH.

Alain Middleton: BECAUSE
OF THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT,

WHICH IS FAIRLY CONSISTENT

ACROSS DIFFERENT
POPULATION GROUPS

AND DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC AREAS,

IT’S SURPRISINGLY CONSISTENT,

AND YOU GET
VERY ACCURATE RESULTS.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE CASTS
OF THE MOTHER AND FATHER

CONTAIN ONLY A FEW REAL BONES,

BOTH SETS OF TEETH ARE COMPLETE.

DENTAL ANALYSIS NOW SUGGESTS
THAT BOTH PARENTS

WERE PROBABLY YOUNGER
THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT,

PERHAPS JUST INTO THEIR 20s.

AND THE YOUNG CHILD STANDING
ON THE MOTHER’S CHEST

ALSO CONTAINS ITS TEETH,

ALTHOUGH DURING
THE CASTING PROCESS,

THEY HAVE BECOME DISLODGED AND
NOW REST AROUND WAIST LEVEL.

Lazer: THIS IS THE LOWER JAW
OF THE CHILD.

Beard: AND THEY LOOK,
THEY LOOK A BIT, UM...

RICKETY, CROOKED.

Lazer: THEY ARE
VERY CROOKED TEETH.

Beard: SO THIS KID HAD NOT GONE
TO THE ORTHODONTIST.

Lazer: ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Narrator:
IT’S AN EXCITING RESULT.

IT MEANS THAT WE CAN NOW
GET CLOSER

TO THE CHILD’S AGE AT DEATH.

Lazer: IT’S BEEN SUGGESTED
THAT THIS CHILD

WAS FIVE OR SIX YEARS OF AGE.

Beard: BECAUSE IT’S GOT SOME
BABY TEETH AND SOME ADULT TEETH.

Lazer: IT DOESN’T SEEM TO HAVE
LOST THE BABY TEETH YET.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

Narrator: BUT THE REAL DISCOVERY

IS IN THE CT SCANS
OF THE TODDLER.

♪

DIGITALLY PEELING AWAY
THE PLASTER,

WE CAN NOW SEE INSIDE
THIS TINY, EVOCATIVE CAST.

FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN OUR STUDY

THE ORIGINAL 2,000-YEAR-OLD
BONES ARE CLEARLY VISIBLE.

IT’S A SIGNIFICANT
AND HAUNTING FIND.

Lazer: YOU CAN SEE
THE LEG BONES,

YOU CAN SEE THE VERTEBRAE,

AND YOU CAN SEE THE SKULL
REALLY WELL.

Narrator: ANALYSIS OF THE
TODDLER’S LEG AND FOOT BONES

REVEALS ITS RATE OF DEVELOPMENT.

LAZER CAN NOW DETERMINE
THE CHILD’S AGE AT DEATH.

Lazer: THE TARSAL BONES
START TO OSSIFY AROUND THREE.

Beard: AH, SO YOU DON’T REALLY
GET YOUR FOOT BONES

UNTIL YOU’RE ABOUT THREE,

SO THIS KID IS ON THE WAY?

Lazer: YUP.

Narrator: BACKED UP
BY DENTAL ANALYSIS,

LAZER CAN BE VERY SURE
OF HER FINDINGS.

Lazer: AND THAT’S THE CROWN.

Beard: THAT’S THE CROWN
OF WHAT WILL BE...

Lazer: A MOLAR.

Beard: A MOLAR, BUT IT HAS
NOT YET COME THROUGH.

SO THOSE ARE THE BABY TEETH,

AND THESE ARE WHAT’S FORMING
IN THE GUM.

Lazer: MM-HMM.

Beard: SO THAT’S PUTTING HIM
AROUND THREE?

Lazer: ROUND ABOUT THREE.

Narrator: KNOWING THE AGE OF
THIS CHILD SEEMS A SIMPLE THING,

BUT LOOK AT IT THIS WAY--

AT THREE YEARS OLD,

THIS KID WOULD ONLY
JUST BE OUT OF DIAPERS.

INSTANTLY IT SEEMS
MUCH MORE HUMAN.

AND NOW WE CAN ALSO REVEAL

WHAT THAT BLOB ON THE CHEST
REALLY IS.

Beard: SO THAT IS,
IT IS A BROOCH?

IT’S A PIN, IS IT?

Lazer: IT LOOKS LIKE
A FASTENING OF SOME SORT.

Beard: I’M REALLY PLEASED
WITH THAT,

BECAUSE FROM THE OUTSIDE

IT LOOKED AS IF THERE WAS
A CLASP OR SOMETHING,

AND THAT IS EXACTLY
WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE.

PRESUMABLY IT’S A CASE OF
EVERYTHING HAVING GOT PUSHED UP,

AND WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN
AROUND THE KID’S WAIST

HAS ENDED UP THERE.

Lazer: EXACTLY.

Narrator: THIS CLASP WAS
PROBABLY SOME KIND OF BELT

OR CLOTHES FASTENING--

A SIMPLE, EVERYDAY OBJECT

WHICH BRINGS US MUCH CLOSER
TO THIS TINY VICTIM.

Beard: THE BIG QUESTION
HAS ALWAYS BEEN, FOR ME,

WHETHER HE BELONGED, REALLY,
TO THE SO-CALLED MOTHER,

SO-CALLED FATHER
AND SO-CALLED CHILD.

BUT YOU RATHER HOPE
HE IS WITH THEM,

BECAUSE OTHERWISE
HE’S ON HIS OWN.

Lazer: OF COURSE YOU DON’T WANT
TO IMAGINE THAT THIS POOR CHILD

WAS ALL BY THEMSELVES.

Beard: NO, YOU DO WANT HIM WITH
HIS MUM AND DAD, DON’T YOU?

Narrator: THE STUDY
OF OUR FAMILY GROUP

MAY NOT HAVE CONFIRMED
THEIR TRUE RELATIONSHIP.

BUT THE ADULTS HAVE PROVED
TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER

THAN ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.

AND THROUGH THESE
POWERFUL CT IMAGES,

WE’VE GOTTEN CLOSER TO IMAGINING
AN EVERYDAY FAMILY.

YET THESE ARE JUST SOME
OF THE MANY GHOSTS OF POMPEII.

OTHERS, LIKE THE BEGGAR,
THE MOOR,

AND THE EMBRACING COUPLE

WILL SOON START TO REVEAL
THEIR SECRETS.

♪

♪

AND IT’S NOT JUST
THE PEOPLE OF POMPEII,

BECAUSE NEW LASER SCANS
OF ITS BUILDINGS

CAN NOW HELP REVEAL
THIS LOST WORLD.

IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER LIES
WHAT LOOKS LIKE

SOME OF POMPEII’S
MOST PRIME REAL ESTATE.

PROFESSOR KEVIN DICUS STUDIES
THIS GRAND-LOOKING URBAN VILLA

FROM THE AIR.

Dicus: IT IS PRIME PROPERTY.

IT’S LOCATED ON ONE OF
THE MOST HEAVILY TRAVELED ROADS

OF THE CITY,

LOCATED ALSO NEXT
TO THE CITY GATE,

AND TO THE SOUTH,
THE AMPHITHEATER.

Narrator: SPREAD OVER TWO ACRES,

ITS MULTIPLE TWO-STORY BUILDINGS
CAME COMPLETE

WITH A LARGE GARDEN,
SWIMMING POOL

AND PRIVATE VINEYARD.

EASY TO GUESS THEN THAT THIS
WAS A RICH PRIVATE HOUSE.

BUT DICUS THINKS
IT’S THE PRIME LOCATION

THAT IS A CLUE
TO ITS REAL PURPOSE.

Dicus: THIS WAS
A GREAT LOCATION

TO ATTRACT BOTH POMPEIIANS
FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE,

AS WELL AS PEOPLE COMING

FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE
INTO THE CITY

TO CONDUCT BUSINESS

OR PERHAPS WATCH
THE GLADIATORIAL COMBAT

IN THE NEIGHBORING AMPHITHEATER.

Narrator:
THIS WAS ONE OF POMPEII’S
MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES--

A KIND OF DAY SPA
AND LEISURE COMPLEX

CATERING FOR POMPEII’S RICH.

ALTHOUGH CLOSED
FOR EXTENSIVE RESTORATION,

WE CAN NOW STEP BACK IN TIME,

AND WITH THE HELP
OF OUR LASER SCANS,

REVEAL WHO WOULD HAVE VISITED
HERE 2,000 YEARS AGO.

DR. SHELLEY HALES IS AN EXPERT
IN ROMAN ARCHITECTURE.

Shelley Hales: WE KNOW A BIT
ABOUT WHAT KIND OF CLIENTELE

THE OWNER WAS TRYING TO INVITE,

BECAUSE AN INSCRIPTION
FOUND HERE TELLS US

THAT IT WAS SPECIFICALLY
FOR THE BEST PEOPLE.

Narrator: THE EXCLUSIVE GUESTS
WOULD ARRIVE

VIA THIS ELEGANT COURTYARD,

BEFORE ENTERING
THE PRIVATE BATH COMPLEX.

EQUIPPED WITH ALL THE SAME
FACILITIES AS THE PUBLIC BATHS,

EACH ROOM WOULD HAVE RAMPED UP
THE TEMPERATURE.

BEHIND THIS WALL, WE CAN EVEN
STILL SEE THE FURNACE

THAT CREATED THE HEAT,

CONSTANTLY FED
BY A GANG OF SLAVES.

SLAVERY WAS AN INTEGRAL PART
OF POMPEIIAN AND ROMAN SOCIETY,

COMPRISING ALMOST 25%
OF THE POPULATION.

THIS BUSINESS ALONE
WOULD HAVE HAD UP TO 50 SLAVES.

BUT WHILE THEY REMAIN ANONYMOUS,

AN INSCRIPTION FOUND
IN THE PROPERTY

REVEALS THE IDENTITY
OF THE OWNER.

Hales: WHAT’S SO FASCINATING
ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR COMPLEX

IS NOT JUST WHAT
A SHARP BUSINESS MIND

WAS CLEARLY AT PLAY HERE,

MASTERMINDING THIS WHOLE RESORT,

BUT THE FACT
THAT IT WAS A WOMAN.

Narrator: THE LATIN INSCRIPTION
NAMES HER AS GIULIA FELICE,

WHICH TRANSLATED MEANS
"LUCKY JULIA."

AS A WOMAN SHE COULDN’T VOTE,

SHE WASN’T ALLOWED IN THE MEN’S
SECTIONS OF THE LOCAL BATHS,

BUT SHE COULD BECOME
A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR--

LUCKY JULIA.

Hales: IT’S REALLY RARE FOR US

TO KNOW ABOUT
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMEN

IN A SOCIETY WHICH WAS,
OF COURSE,

DOMINATED AND RUN BY MEN.

Narrator: AND WHILE WE MIGHT
IMAGINE HER

WELCOMING SOME OF THE MORE
EXCLUSIVE CLIENTELE,

DR. SHELLEY HALES CAN REVEAL
THAT JULIA KNEW

THAT TO MAKE REAL MONEY,
SHE NEEDED TO SERVE THE MASSES.

BACK ON THE MAIN STREET,
SHE HAD BUILT A TAKEOUT DINER.

Hales: THIS IS THE KIND OF BAR
WE FIND THROUGHOUT POMPEII

ON THE MAIN BUSY ROADS,

TRYING TO GET PASSING TRADE,
TO SELL FOOD AND DRINK

TO PEOPLE WHO WERE
TRYING TO EAT ON THE GO.

Narrator: WITH THE FAST FOOD
MARKET CORNERED,

JULIA DIDN’T NEGLECT THOSE
WITH MORE TIME AND CASH.

THIS DINING ROOM OFFERS
BOTH FORMAL DINING,

KNOWN AS A TRICLINIUM,

WHERE THE GUESTS WOULD RECLINE
ON THESE BENCHES TO EAT,

AND A SIMPLE TABLE AND CHAIR
FOR THOSE IN A HURRY.

IT SEEMS LUCKY JULIA CATERED
FOR ALL TASTES AND BUDGETS.

Hales: IT JUST REFLECTS AGAIN
THE INGENUITY OF JULIA FELIX

THAT THROUGHOUT THIS COMPLEX

SHE JUST PLAYS
TO THE ASPIRATIONS

OF EVERY MEMBER
OF POMPEIIAN SOCIETY,

WHATEVER THEIR POCKET
AND WHATEVER THEIR STATUS.

Narrator: THE IRONY OF POMPEII
IS THAT MOUNT VESUVIUS

WAS BOTH THE GREAT DESTROYER AND
THE GREAT PRESERVER OF THE TOWN.

AS SUCH, WE DON’T HAVE TO GUESS

AT WHAT FOOD JULIA’S
CUSTOMERS WERE EATING...

AS SOME OF IT HAS BEEN
AS WELL PRESERVED

AS THE STREETS AND HOUSES.

Beard: LUIGI, CIAO.
BUONASERA. CIAO, CIAO. BENE.

Narrator: THIS IS TRULY
BEHIND THE SCENES AT POMPEII.

THE DELICATE FINDS STORED IN
THIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY

ARE FAR TOO PRECIOUS
FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY.

Beard: OH, WOW.

Narrator: PROFESSOR MARY BEARD
HAS SPECIAL PERMISSION

TO EXAMINE SOME
OF THE ANCIENT FOODSTUFFS.

Beard: THESE ARE POMEGRANATES
AND ALMONDS.

THIS IS OLIVES,

AND THESE ARE
VERY SPLENDID NUTS.

WHAT SORT OF NUTS ARE THEY?

I THINK WALNUTS,
THEY’RE WALNUTS, I THINK.

Narrator: THESE FRAGMENTS
CAN HELP US RECONSTRUCT

HOW ORDINARY POMPEIIANS
WERE LIVING

RIGHT UP TO THE ERUPTION.

Beard: FIGS.
THIS ISN’T POSH FOOD.

EVERYBODY’S EATING THESE.

IT’S A TURTLE SHELL.

WE HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT SOMEBODY
HAD A GREAT FEAST OUT OF THIS.

LUIGI, WHAT ELSE HAVE WE GOT?
LET’S SEE SOMETHING ELSE,

BECAUSE IT IS
AN ALADDIN’S CAVE, REALLY.

BRING SOMETHING.

Narrator:
THIS JAR IS FULL OF BITS

OF 2,000-YEAR-OLD ROTTEN FISH,

THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN A FAMOUS
ROMAN SAUCE CALLED GARUM.

USED AS WIDELY AS KETCHUP TODAY,
IT’S AN ACQUIRED TASTE.

Beard: OH, NO.
INDEED WE HAVE SOME.

STILL MADE NEAR HERE,
I CAN SMELL IT FROM HERE.

THIS IS...ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING.

I’M GOING TO DO IT AGAIN
TO SHOW HOW VERY BRAVE I AM,

BUT UGH!

UGH!

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ROMAN DIET,

YOU’VE REALLY GOT TO THINK

EVERYTHING SMOTHERED
WITH THAT STUFF!

Narrator: THIS LOAF OF BREAD WAS
DISCOVERED STILL IN THE OVEN.

AND THE BAKER HAS EVEN LEFT
HIS THUMBPRINT IN IT

AS A KIND OF MAKER’S MARK.

Beard: IS THIS A THUMBPRINT?

Luigi: IMPRONTA.

Narrator: IT’S AMAZING
HOW A SIMPLE LOAF

CAN BRING US VERY CLOSE
TO PEOPLE OF POMPEII.

Beard: IT ACTUALLY SHOWS YOU
THAT KIND OF DISRUPTION

IN LIFE, TIME, TRAGEDY,
DISASTER--

BECAUSE IT WAS AN ORDINARY LOAF,
AND NOBODY EVER GOT TO EAT IT.

IT IS ACTUALLY
FANTASTICALLY EXCITING

TO GET THIS CLOSE TO THIS STUFF,

BECAUSE YOU REALLY DON’T FIND
THIS KIND OF SURVIVAL

FROM ANYWHERE ELSE
IN THE ROMAN WORLD

APART FROM POMPEII.

Narrator: IN 79 A.D.,
THE BAKER WHO BAKED THIS LOAF

WOULD HAVE BEEN BUSY
WITH CUSTOMERS

IN HIS THRIVING CITY OF 12,000.

YET NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA THAT
A TIME BOMB JUST OUTSIDE POMPEII

WAS ALREADY
COUNTING DOWN TO ZERO.

NEARLY 2,000 YEARS AGO
THE ROMAN TOWN OF POMPEII

WAS COMPLETELY BURIED
BY THE CATASTROPHIC ERUPTION

OF MOUNT VESUVIUS.

[RUMBLING]

[THUNDER]

NOW A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION
RENOVATION PROGRAM,

ALONG WITH AN UNPRECEDENTED
FORENSIC STUDY,

IS REVEALING NEW SECRETS ABOUT
BOTH THE TOWN AND ITS PEOPLE.

♪

♪

THIS BUILDING,
WITH ITS LAVISH INTERIOR,

HAS BEEN OFF LIMITS FOR YEARS.

AT FIRST GLANCE IT LOOKS
LIKE A GRAND PRIVATE RESIDENCE,

BUT THIS LARGE WATER TANK
IS A CLUE

THAT ALL THE SPLENDOR
HIDES A DIRTY SECRET.

THIS IS A RINSING TANK.

IT REVEALS THAT THIS
ONCE PRIVATE HOUSE

WAS AT SOME POINT CONVERTED
INTO THE LOCAL LAUNDRY.

FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGIST
JEAN-PIERRE BRUN

DISCOVERS MORE RINSING TANKS

HAD BEEN CONSTRUCTED
IN THE GARDEN.

Jean-Pierre Brun:
THIS IS THE PLACE

WHERE THE MAIN PROCESS
TOOK PLACE.

YOU CAN SEE THREE MAIN BASINS

FOR RINSING THE CLOTHES.

Narrator: THIS LAUNDRY WASN’T
JUST WHERE POSH ROMANS

GOT THEIR TOGAS CLEANED,

IT WAS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL
PROCESSING OF NEW RAW CLOTH,

WHICH ACCORDING TO RECORDS
REQUIRED A NOXIOUS CONCOCTION

OF SULFUR, SODA
AND FERMENTED HUMAN URINE.

Brun: WHEN URINE IS FERMENTED,
IT CREATES CHEMICALS

THAT REMOVE THE GREASE
FROM THE CLOTHES.

Narrator: THIS TOXIC AND BRUTAL
PROCESS REQUIRED THE LAUNDERERS

TO TREAD THE CLOTH
WITH THEIR BARE FEET.

A PAINTING FROM THE TOWN REVEALS

THIS JOB FELL TO THE MOST JUNIOR
MEMBERS OF THE LAUNDRY.

Brun: THEY USED TO DO THIS JOB
WITH YOUNG BOYS,

USUALLY YOUNG SLAVES.

IT WAS A VERY HARD
AND NASTY JOB.

♪

Narrator: FAR AWAY
FROM SUCH UNPLEASANTNESS,

IN THE CITY’S SOUTH,
WE FIND SOME OF THE HOUSES

OF THE RICHEST AND
MOST POWERFUL POMPEIIANS.

♪

THIS IS ONE
OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE.

ITS 60 ROOMS COVER
ALMOST 32,000 SQUARE FEET.

♪

LOCATED JUST A STONE’S THROW
FROM THE CENTER OF TOWN,

AT THE REAR, IT HAD
A VIEW TO DIE FOR,

RIGHT OVER THE BAY OF NAPLES.

YET WHAT’S MOST EXCITING
IS WHAT LIES BENEATH.

AS OUR SCANS
PEEL BACK THE LAYERS

OF THE UPPER FLOOR,

WE CAN REVEAL A REALM RARELY
GLIMPSED IN ROMAN HISTORY.

SINKING THROUGH THE GROUND,
WE FIND THE WORLD OF THE SLAVES,

UNTIL NOW,
ONE OF THE MOST ELUSIVE

AND LEAST UNDERSTOOD PARTS
OF ROMAN SOCIETY.

Wallace-Hadrill:
THIS AREA IS VERY DARK,

AND IT’S JUST ILLUMINATED
BY THESE LITTLE HOLES

COMING THROUGH THE CEILING.

THIS REALLY IS
A SERVICE QUARTER.

SO YOU’VE GOT A KITCHEN HERE

AND THEN A WHOLE SERIES OF ROOMS
FOR THE SLAVES.

Narrator: SLAVERY IN THE ROMAN
WORLD WASN’T BASED ON RACE.

MOST SLAVES WERE EITHER
NATIVE TO ITALY

OR DRAWN FROM EUROPE
AND THE MEDITERRANEAN,

WHILE ONLY A RELATIVE FEW
ORIGINATED FROM AFRICA.

IN A LARGE HOUSE LIKE THIS,

THE SLAVES WOULD HAVE
DONE EVERYTHING

FROM THE COOKING AND CLEANING

TO THE GARDENING
AND HOME IMPROVEMENTS.

TREATED LIKE MACHINES,

THEY WERE SILENT, NAMELESS,
AND VIRTUALLY INVISIBLE.

Wallace-Hadrill: NOW, THIS IS
NOT A BEAUTIFUL DINING ROOM

WITH FRESCOES ON THE WALL,

YOU DON’T INVITE
YOUR FRIENDS DOWN HERE

FOR A NICE DINNER PARTY.

IT’S A RELATIVELY SMALL ROOM,

IT’S GOT CRUDE WHITE DECORATION
ON THE WALLS,

AND IT’S GOT VERY LITTLE
LIGHT, INDEED.

YOUR ONLY LIGHT SOURCE

IS A HOLE IN THE CEILING
UP THERE.

IT’S EASY TO IMAGINE
YOU COULD USE THIS

AS SLAVES’ QUARTERS,

AND WE CAN IMAGINE, CERTAINLY,
SLAVES AT WORK DOWN HERE.

Narrator: POMPEII’S SLAVES
WERE FORCED TO DO THE JOBS

NO ONE ELSE WANTED.

YET BECAUSE WE RARELY FIND
ANY EVIDENCE OF THEM,

UP TO NOW, IMAGINING THEIR LIVES
HAS ALWAYS BEEN GUESSWORK.

BUT WITH THE HELP OF OUR SCANS,

WE NOW CAN RECONSTRUCT SOME
OF THE LIFE THEY MIGHT HAVE LED,

MAKING THIS NETWORK
OF UNDERGROUND SPACES

A UNIQUE WINDOW

INTO A PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PART
OF POMPEIIAN LIFE.

LIKE THE SLAVES,
LIFE FOR POMPEII’S POOR

IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT
THINGS TO IDENTIFY.

YET THERE IS ONE CAST THAT HAS
LONG BEEN BRANDED A BEGGAR.

THIS MISSHAPEN HAND

IS THOUGHT TO BE THE BAG HE USED
TO COLLECT HIS HANDOUTS.

WHILE ON HIS RIGHT FOOT,
THIS IMPRINT OF A SANDAL--

PERHAPS THE GIFT
OF A GENEROUS BENEFACTOR?

IF HE WAS A BEGGAR,

WHAT WAS HIS LIFE LIKE
BEFORE THE ERUPTION?

THIS RARE PAINTING
FOUND IN POMPEII

DEPICTS A RESPECTABLE LADY
WITH HER SLAVE

GIVING MONEY
TO A FRAIL, OLD BEGGAR.

Wallace-Hadrill:
IT’S AN OLD MAN WITH A STAFF,

AND AT HIS FEET,
THERE’S A LITTLE DOG,

A SWEET, LITTLE DOG,

AND PRESUMABLY THE BEGGAR
IS ASKING THE RICH LADY

FOR SOME MONEY
FOR HIS NEXT MEAL.

Narrator:
AS WE IMAGINE THIS SCENE,

IT RAISES
AN INTERESTING QUESTION

ABOUT LIFE FOR POMPEII’S
UNDERCLASSES.

IS IT BETTER TO BE A SLAVE,
WITHOUT RIGHTS,

BUT WITH A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD
AND FOOD ON THE TABLE?

OR TO BE FREE AND POOR?

WALLACE-HADRILL BELIEVES THAT,
WITH NO WELFARE SYSTEM,

SLAVERY MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN
THE WORST FATE.

Wallace-Hadrill: IT’S NOT THE
END OF THE WORLD TO BE A SLAVE,

AND YOU HAVE THE PROSPECT
OF FREEDOM.

ACTUALLY THEY’RE PEOPLE
WITH HOPE,

THEY’RE PEOPLE
WHO CAN BE PROMOTED.

THEY CAN GET THEIR FREEDOM.

THEY CAN BECOME CITIZENS
IN THEIR TURN.

THE BEGGAR HAS REACHED
THE BOTTOM OF THE SOCIAL PILE.

IT’S WORSE TO BE WITHOUT MONEY
THAN TO BE WITHOUT FREEDOM.

Narrator: IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON
IN THE ROMAN WORLD

FOR SLAVES TO BUY THEIR FREEDOM,

OR TO BE REWARDED WITH IT
FOR LONG, LOYAL SERVICE.

YET RICH OR POOR, SLAVE OR FREE,

ALL IN POMPEII WERE DESTINED
TO SHARE THE SAME FATE.

LOCATED IN THE SHADOW
OF VESUVIUS,

THE TOWN IS SITUATED
IN A GEOLOGICALLY ACTIVE AREA.

EVEN IN ROMAN TIMES,

THE RESIDENTS WERE WELL USED
TO REGULAR EARTH TREMORS

SHAKING THE TOWN
AND ITS BUILDINGS.

YET LITTLE DID THEY KNOW,

THE TREMORS IN THE EARLY SUMMER
OF 79 A.D.

FORETOLD A MUCH LARGER DISASTER.

[RUMBLING]

[BEEP]

Luyck: SEE IF YOU CAN
HOLD IT PARALLEL.

[BEEP]

Narrator:
BACK IN THE INVESTIGATION,

THE X-RAYS OF THE BEGGAR
PROVE REVEALING.

THIS BLOB ON HIS LEFT HAND WAS
THOUGHT TO BE HIS BEGGING BAG,

BUT IS NOW REVEALED
AS NOTHING MORE

THAN A LARGE LUMP OF PLASTER.

Beard: IT CERTAINLY HAS
NO COINS IN IT.

Lazer: NO.

Beard: SO, A BIT OF MISCASTING

ACTUALLY LAUNCHES
THIS WHOLE MYTH

THAT THIS IS A BEGGAR.

Narrator:
SO WITH ONE MYTH BUSTED,

CAN THE IMPRESSION OF THE SANDAL

REVEAL MORE ABOUT
WHO THIS PERSON WAS?

Luyck: 1, 2, 3.
[BEEP]

Narrator: THE X-RAY SHOWS IT
IN MUCH GREATER DETAIL.

Beard: WHAT’S AMAZING HERE IS
THAT YOU REALLY DO SEE

HOW SMART THEY ARE, DON’T YOU?

Lazer: YUP.
AND THAT’S THE STRAP.

Beard: THAT’S THE STRAP.

Lazer: AND ACCORDING
TO THE REPORTS,

IT HAD A SENSIBLE GRIP.

Beard: THAT SANDAL LOOKS TO ME,
YOU KNOW, PRETTY POSH.

NEVER MIND THE PHILANTHROPIST,

IT’S MUCH MORE LIKELY THIS IS
SOMEONE WHO’S REALLY QUITE RICH,

RICH ENOUGH TO HAVE
NICE FOOTWEAR.

Narrator: THE SCANS HAVE NOT
ONLY EXPOSED THE SANDAL,

THEY ALSO NOW REVEAL
THE PERFECTLY INTACT FOOT BONES.

Lazer: THESE ARE BONES
OF THE FOOT,

AND THIS IS THE LOWER LEG BONE,
THE TIBIA.

Narrator: THE X-RAYS
REVEAL SOMETHING

THAT WILL CHANGE OUR VIEW
OF THIS CAST FOREVER.

Lazer: YOU CAN JUST SEE
THE GROWTH PLATE

ON THE HEEL BONE.

Beard: WHAT’S A GROWTH PLATE?

Lazer: THAT’S THE PART WHERE THE
TWO BITS OF BONE ARE SEPARATED,

AND THE GROWTH PLATE IS MADE UP
OF CARTILAGINOUS BONE.

Narrator: IN A MATURE ADULT,
THIS GROWTH PLATE

WOULD NORMALLY BE
COMPLETELY FUSED AND CLOSED UP.

BUT SINCE LAZER CAN STILL SEE
SEPARATION BETWEEN THE BONES,

IT TELLS HER
THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL

IS MUCH YOUNGER THAN EXPECTED.

SO MUCH SO, THAT THE STORY
OF AN OLD, FRAIL BEGGAR

MUST NOW BE REWRITTEN.

Beard: SO MY PICTURE OF THIS
IS STARTING TO,

IT’S REALLY OVERTURNING
WHAT, WHAT THE--

YOU KNOW,
THE STANDARD BEGGAR IDEA.

Lazer: IT’S NOT AN OLD BEGGAR
WITH A BENT BACK,

IT’S DEFINITELY
A YOUNGER INDIVIDUAL,

POSSIBLY WITH THEIR OWN SANDALS.

Narrator: AS THE IMAGE OF OUR
FRAIL, OLD BEGGAR FADES AWAY,

WE FIND YET ANOTHER VICTIM WHO
SEEMS TO BE YOUNG AND FIT...

AND WITH IT,
A MUCH CLEARER PICTURE

OF THE REAL POMPEII EMERGES.

THIS WAS THRIVING LITTLE TOWN,
WITH A HIGH PERCENTAGE

OF THE YOUNG
AND REASONABLY WELL OFF,

WHICH LEAVES US
WITH A NEW MYSTERY.

WHY DID SO MANY OF POMPEII’S
YOUNG AND HEALTHY

NOT FLEE THE ERUPTION
WHEN THEY HAD A CHANCE?

WHAT COMPELLED THEM TO STAY
AND ULTIMATELY PERISH

IN A CLOUD
OF BURNING ROCK AND ASH?

POMPEII WAS A SMALL
PROVINCIAL ROMAN TOWN

MADE FAMOUS BY THE VOLCANIC
ERUPTION THAT DESTROYED IT.

BUT CLUES TO ITS CHARACTER
AND PROSPERITY DO STILL REMAIN.

TODAY THE FAMOUS RUINS
SIT ABOUT A MILE

FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

IN THE DENSELY POPULATED
BAY OF NAPLES.

BUT 2,000 YEARS AGO,

BEFORE THE LANDSCAPE WAS ALTERED
BY REPEATED GEOLOGICAL ACTIVITY,

SHIPS CAME RIGHT INTO TOWN.

Dicus: THESE BLOCKS HERE
WITH THE HOLES

ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE
ACTUALLY MOORED SHIPS.

THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA
LAPPED UP AGAINST THIS WALL.

Narrator:
THIS NOW QUIET LOCATION
TO THE SOUTH OF THE CITY

WAS PROBABLY LINKED TO THE SEA

BY A MAN-MADE CANAL
OR NATURAL ESTUARY.

THIS WAS THE TOWN’S BUSY MARINA,

WHERE MERCHANT SHIPS
BROUGHT GOODS

IN AND OUT OF POMPEII.

Dicus: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EVIDENCE SHOWS IMPORTED GOODS

COMING IN FROM ALL OVER
THE MEDITERRANEAN--

POTTERY, DOMESTIC GOODS,
LUXURY ITEMS.

EXPORTING WAS A CRUCIAL FACTOR
FOR THE CITY.

CASH CROPS SUCH AS WINE AND OIL.

THE LIFE OF POMPEII
WAS INEXTRICABLY LINKED

TO THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

♪

Narrator: TODAY EVIDENCE
OF POMPEII’S MARITIME HERITAGE

IS FOUND ALL OVER THE CITY.

ITS ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY
IS A TREASURE TROVE

OF THE MOST FRAGILE FINDS--

ITEMS THAT HAVE MIRACULOUSLY
SURVIVED IN BUILDINGS AND HOUSES

ONCE BURIED UNDER TONS
OF ASH AND ROCK.

Beard: THIS IS PART OF
A VERY BEAUTIFULLY WOVEN NET

OF SOME ANCIENT POMPEIIAN
FISHERMAN,

AND YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW
BEAUTIFULLY WOVEN IT IS.

MORE DRAWERS TO EXPLORE.

Narrator:
THESE ARE CONCH SHELLS,

WHICH, AFTER MAKING SOMEONE
A GOOD MEAL,

HAVE BEEN RECYCLED
AS ANCIENT TRUMPETS

USED IN THE THEATER
TO ANNOUNCE THE PERFORMANCE.

Beard: WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED
TO DO IS BLOW DOWN IT.

I’M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO
MANAGE THIS, BUT I’LL HAVE A GO.

[BLOWING]

I WAS CHEATING THERE,
I’M AFRAID.

[BLOWING]

WELL, I CAN’T GET...

[BLOWING]

BLIND BIT OF NOISE
OUT OF THIS THING,

BUT IT’S A NICE EXAMPLE
OF THE SEA PRODUCING

ALL KINDS OF THINGS
THAT POMPEIIANS ARE RECYCLING.

Narrator: EXCAVATIONS HERE
HAVE SHOWN

THAT POMPEII DIDN’T
JUST IMPORT GOODS.

LOCALLY PRODUCED ITEMS WERE
EXPORTED ALL ACROSS THE EMPIRE.

ONE OF POMPEII’S MAJOR EXPORTS
WAS ITS VERY OWN WINE.

OUR AERIAL SCANS CAN NOW REVEAL
HOW EXTENSIVE PRODUCTION WAS.

THESE REPLANTED VINEYARDS
EXTEND FOR MANY ACRES

ACROSS THE SOUTH OF THE CITY.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS USED THE SAME
PLASTER CAST TECHNIQUE

USED ON THE VICTIMS

TO MAKE MOLDS
OF THE ANCIENT VINE ROOTS

TO HELP IDENTIFY THE VARIETY
OF RED GRAPE

THAT WAS ONCE GROWN HERE.

POMPEII’S WINE HAD A REPUTATION.

THE ROMAN WRITER PLINY CLAIMED
IT WAS BEST AT TEN YEARS OF AGE,

BUT WARNED THAT IT COULD PRODUCE
A FIERCE HANGOVER,

WHICH LASTS
"UNTIL NOON THE NEXT DAY."

YET DISCOVERING THE EXACT TASTE
OF THE WINE

HAS ELUDED EXPERTS FOR YEARS.

BUT THESE DISTINCTIVE WINE JARS,
KNOWN AS AMPHORAS,

MAY HOLD A CLUE.

MADE LOCALLY FROM THE VOLCANIC
SOIL AROUND VESUVIUS,

THEY WERE SHAPED LIKE THIS

SO THEY COULD BE EASILY STACKED
IN SHIPS.

Brun: THESE AMPHORAE
WERE POROUS,

SO THEY NEEDED TO BE COATED
INSIDE WITH PITCH,

AND OF COURSE THIS PITCH GAVE
A STRANGE TASTE TO THE WINE,

A TASTE OF SMOKE AND PINE RESIN.

BUT PROBABLY IT WAS NOT MORE...

IT WAS NO STRANGER THAN
A SMOKY WHISKEY, FOR EXAMPLE.

Narrator: LIKE ALL PORT TOWNS,
POMPEII HAD ITS SEEDIER SIDE.

AND AS THE SUN SETS,

WE CAN IMAGINE THAT SOME
TRAVELERS TO THE CITY

MIGHT BE DRAWN
TO THIS PART OF TOWN.

LOCATED CLOSE TO THE MARINA,

THIS IS POMPEII’S BROTHEL,
THE LUPINARE.

WHILE THERE WERE PROBABLY
MANY MORE ESTABLISHMENTS

LIKE THIS ACROSS TOWN,

ONLY THIS ONE ADVERTISED
SO BLATANTLY.

GRAFFITI EXPERT
DR. KATHERINE HUNTLEY

SEARCHES FOR EVIDENCE OF EXACTLY
WHAT TOOK PLACE HERE.

Huntley: HERE’S A GOOD EXAMPLE
OF A TYPICAL TYPE OF GRAFFITI,

A TYPICAL WORD, FUTUIT,

WHICH IS OFTEN TRANSLATED
MEANING "TO HAVE SEX WITH."

IF YOU WANT TO REALLY
REPRESENT THE SENSE

THE AUTHOR WAS TRYING
TO GET ACROSS,

IT MEANS... IT MEANS I...
SO-AND-SO HERE.

FUTUIT SUM HIC.

I DID THE ACTION HERE,
I DID THAT HERE.

Narrator: THIS WALL NOW READS
LIKE A GUEST BOOK,

THE CUSTOMERS RECORDING HOW MUCH
THEY ENJOYED THEIR VISIT.

Huntley: THE GRAFFITI ARE
IN THE PAST TENSE,

THE ACTION HAS HAPPENED,

AND SO IN SOME WAYS IT COULD BE
THEY’RE JUST EXCITED,

AND THEY WANTED TO RECORD
THEIR VISIT HERE,

AND IT ALSO COULD BE, TOO,
THAT THE PROSTITUTES

WERE ENCOURAGING THEM TO
AS SORT OF A WAY TO ADVERTISE.

LOOK AT ALL THESE PEOPLE
WHO HAD A GOOD TIME HERE.

SORT OF LIKE
AN INTERNET REVIEW SITE.

Narrator: WHILE IT SEEMS
THAT MOST WHO VISITED

GOT WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR,

THESE RECORDS ARE
PERHAPS MISLEADING.

LOOKING AROUND THE BROTHEL,

YOU SEE THE BED CHAMBERS
RESEMBLE PRISON CELLS.

AND FOR THE GIRLS
WHO WORKED HERE,

SLAVES FORCED
INTO THE SEX BUSINESS,

THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE.

SO PERHAPS THE GRAFFITI ISN’T
TELLING US THE WHOLE STORY,

AS NO WOMAN
WITH ANY OPTIONS IN LIFE

WOULD CHOOSE TO WORK HERE.

POMPEII’S LOCATION CONNECTED IT
WITH TRADE ROUTES

TO REST OF EUROPE,
AFRICA AND THE ORIENT.

AND IT WASN’T JUST GOODS
THAT FLOWED IN AND OUT.

THERE’S ONE CAST THAT HAS
ALWAYS BEEN THOUGHT OF

AS A FOREIGN VISITOR.

DISCOVERED MORE THAN
100 YEARS AGO,

IT WAS IDENTIFIED AS A MAN
COMING FROM NORTH AFRICA.

TODAY HE IS KNOWN AS THE MOOR.

Lazer: THE IDEA WAS
THAT IT WAS A RIVER PORT,

THAT THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN
AFRICANS OR AFRICAN SLAVES

AND THAT THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN
THE REMAINS OF A SLAVE.

Narrator: SINCE THIS CAST IS
TOO LARGE FOR OUR CT SCANNER,

THE TEAM USES
THE PORTABLE X-RAY.

Middleton: WHAT ARE WE DOING?

Luyck: A LATERAL ON THE SKULL.

[BEEP]

Narrator: CAN OUR STUDY NOW FIND
ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP PROVE

THE REAL IDENTITY
OF THE SO-CALLED MOOR?

Beard: IS THERE ANYTHING
IN THIS SKULL

WHICH SUGGESTS ETHNICITY AT ALL?

Lazer: NO, SADLY,
MOST OF IT’S DISAPPEARED.

SO THIS AREA’S GONE.

THIS AREA’S GONE.

WE’VE GOT A BIT OF THE BONE
AROUND THE EYE SOCKET.

AND INTERESTINGLY, THE FEATURES
THERE ARE MORE CONSISTENT

WITH MALE THAN FEMALE.

Narrator: MANY OF THE BONES
MAY BE MISSING,

BUT THE TEETH ARE
PERFECTLY PRESERVED.

Lazer: THE TEETH ARE
ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD.

THE WISDOM TEETH
HAVEN’T ERUPTED YET,

AND THERE’S NO TOOTH DECAY
AND THERE’S NOT MUCH WEAR,

SO THAT ALL SUGGESTS A YOUNGER
RATHER THAN AN OLDER INDIVIDUAL.

Beard: SO, HE’S A YOUNG MAN,

BUT NO SUGGESTION
THAT HE’S FROM NORTH AFRICA

LIKE IT’S USUALLY CLAIMED.

Narrator: WHILE ANOTHER LAYER
OF MYTH IS PEELED AWAY,

LAZER HAS NOTICED
AN UNEXPECTED PATTERN.

HAVING ALREADY STUDIED
THE FAMILY, THE BEGGAR,

AND NOW THE MOOR,

ALL THE CASTS SEEM TO HAVE
ONE THING IN COMMON.

Lazer: THEY CERTAINLY
SEEM TO BE,

IN THE CASES
THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT,

FAIRLY YOUNG INDIVIDUALS SO FAR.

Beard: ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT’S OFTEN BEEN SAID

IS THAT THE YOUNG AND HEALTHY

WERE THOSE WHO ACTUALLY MANAGED
TO CUT AND RUN AND GET AWAY,

AND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE LEFT

WERE THE PREGNANT LADIES
AND GRANNY AND THE TODDLERS.

Lazer: AND THAT’S
DEFINITELY NOT TRUE.

Narrator: A SURPRISE DISCOVERY,
WHICH POSES THE QUESTION:

IF THEY WERE YOUNG AND FIT,
WHY HADN’T THEY RUN?

IT’S A NEW MYSTERY

THAT CHANGES THE WAY WE THINK
ABOUT THESE VICTIMS.

INSTEAD OF SEEING THEM
AS THOSE WHO COULDN’T ESCAPE,

SHOULD WE LOOK AT THEM
AS THOSE WHO CHOSE TO STAY?

AND WHAT OF THE CITY’S LEADERS?
WHO WERE THEY?

DID THEY ESCAPE,
OR DID THEY, TOO, FALL VICTIM

TO THE LOOMING DISASTER?

WHAT’S NOW CLEAR IS THAT DESPITE
POMPEII’S SMALL SIZE

IT WAS INHABITED BY THE FULL
RANGE OF SOCIAL CLASSES.

WE’VE MET SLAVES,
PROSTITUTES, GLADIATORS,

AS WELL AS BUSINESS OWNERS
AND EVERYDAY FAMILIES.

AND EVERY TOWN NEEDS
ITS LEADERS.

AND POMPEII’S WERE A FAMILY
WHO WOULD RIVAL DONALD TRUMP

IN TERMS SELF-PROMOTION.

THIS IS THE REMAINS OF
AN ANCIENT POLITICAL BILLBOARD,

WHICH PROCLAIMS
"VOTE FOR SATRIUS."

THE INSCRIPTION WAS MADE BY ONE
OF POMPEII’S RICHEST FAMILIES,

THE VALENTES.

IN A BID TO TURN THEIR WEALTH
INTO POLITICAL POWER,

THEY WROTE THEIR NAMES IN
ENORMOUS LETTERS ALL OVER TOWN.

BUT LIKE ALL POLITICIANS,
BIG WORDS WERE NEVER ENOUGH.

IN POMPEII THE BEST WAY TO GET
THE ELECTORATE ON YOUR SIDE

WAS TO PUT ON A BIG SHOW.

THE VALENTES SPONSORED
GRAND GLADIATORIAL GAMES

IN THE LOCAL AMPHITHEATER.

Wallace-Hadrill: YOU CAN SEE
IN GIGANTIC LETTERS,

POMPA, THERE WILL BE
A PROCESSION;

VENARTIA, THERE WILL BE
A BEAST HUNT;

AND THERE’LL BE 20 PAIRS
OF GLADIATORS.

THAT’S HOW TO GET POPULARITY.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Narrator: ACROSS TOWN IN
THE HOUSE OF VENUS IN THE SHELL,

WE FIND EVIDENCE THAT
THE VALENTES’ CAMPAIGNING

DIDN’T STOP WITH
THE GLADIATORIAL GAMES.

♪

AS OUR SCANS NOW REVEAL,

THE LAVISH DECORATION
OF THEIR OWN HOME

WAS ALL PART OF THEIR CAMPAIGN
TO IMPRESS.

Beard: IT WAS HERE THAT THEY
INVITED FELLOW BIGWIGS

TO WINE AND DINE,
TO DINNER AND TO PARTIES.

THE RESTORERS ARE IN HERE NOW,

JUST LIKE THE PAINTERS
AND DECORATORS MUST HAVE BEEN

2,000 YEARS AGO,

BECAUSE THE PROUDEST BOAST
OF THE VALENTES

WERE THE PAINTINGS
ON THEIR WALLS.

♪

Narrator: OUR LASER SCANS
ALLOW US TO REALLY APPRECIATE

THE SPLENDOR OF
THE 2,000-YEAR-OLD DECORATION,

SO MIRACULOUSLY PRESERVED
BY THE VOLCANIC ASH.

THE VIVID COLORS
AND ELABORATE ARTWORKS,

A BOLD STATEMENT ABOUT
THE THEATRICAL NATURE

OF THE VALENTES.

AND NOW WE CAN IMAGINE
THE PARTIES THEY THREW

IN THIS SUMPTUOUS COURTYARD.

Beard: AND IF YOU WERE
LUCKY ENOUGH

TO COME HERE TO A SOIREE,

THE THING THAT WOULD REALLY
HAVE CAUGHT YOUR EYE

WOULD HAVE BEEN
THAT STRIKING IMAGE

AT THE OTHER END OF THE GARDEN.

Narrator:
THIS IS THE GODDESS VENUS.

GODDESS OF LOVE,
SHE IS SHOWN NAKED

AND RECLINING ON A SEASHELL,
SURROUNDED BY CHERUBS.

IT’S AN EROTIC, STRIKING IMAGE

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN
A TALKING POINT.

BUT EXAMINING THE VENUS
UP CLOSE,

MARY BEARD THINKS
SHE REVEALS SOMETHING

ABOUT THE VALENTES THEMSELVES.

Beard: FOR ME, ACTUALLY,
IT’S ALL A BIT TOO THEATRICAL.

SHE DOES LOOK PRETTY STRIKING

FROM THE OTHER END
OF THE GARDEN,

BUT WHEN YOU GET CLOSE,
SHE IS REALLY A BIT CHEAP.

I MEAN, TO BE HONEST,
YOU’D HAVE TO BE A GODDESS

TO GET YOUR LEG
IN THAT POSITION!

MAYBE IT’S TELLING US SOMETHING
ABOUT THE VALENTES,

A BIT MORE SHOW THAN SUBSTANCE?

Narrator: ALTHOUGH PERHAPS
THE VALENTES CHOSE VENUS,

THE ROMAN GODDESS OF FERTILITY,
BEAUTY AND SEX,

FOR MORE THAN HER
TITILLATING QUALITIES.

Beard: VENUS WAS THE DIVINE
PROTECTOR OF POMPEII.

♪

Narrator: YET NOT EVEN A GODDESS
COULD SAVE POMPEII

FROM ITS DESTINY...

ALTHOUGH WE’LL NEVER KNOW
IF THE VALENTES THEMSELVES

PERISHED IN THE DISASTER,

AS NO BODIES WERE EVER FOUND
IN THEIR HOUSE.

PERHAPS THEY HAD RECOGNIZED
THE WARNINGS

AND MADE THEIR ESCAPE,

AS NUMEROUS EARTH TREMORS
HAD SIGNALED

THAT VESUVIUS WAS
ABOUT TO EXPLODE.

YET POMPEII WAS A TOWN
ACCUSTOMED TO THE EARTH SHAKING.

17 YEARS BEFORE THE ERUPTION,
IN 62 A.D.,

THE TOWN WAS VIOLENTLY SHAKEN
BY A MAGNITUDE 6 EARTHQUAKE,

DESTROYING AND DAMAGING
SO MANY OF THE BUILDINGS,

THAT BY THE TIME
OF THE ERUPTION,

SOME WERE STILL UNDER REPAIR.

THE FORUM BATHS LOCATED
CLOSE TO THE MAIN SQUARE

STILL BEAR THE SCARS
OF THE QUAKE.

THESE SUMPTUOUS BATHS
HAD ONLY JUST BEEN REPAIRED

WHEN VESUVIUS ERUPTED.

PUBLIC BATHING WAS
THE GREAT LEVELER.

HERE RICH AND POOR ALIKE
WOULD HAVE COME TO RELAX NAKED

AND LET IT ALL HANG OUT...

FROM THE BUFF WORKERS
TO THE BIG-BELLIED WELL-TO-DO--

ALTHOUGH THIS SECTION
WAS MEN ONLY.

BUT AS OUR SCANS REVEAL,
RIGHT NEXT DOOR

THE DISTINCTIVE BARREL-VAULTED
ROOMS ARE REPEATED.

THIS IS ONE OF POMPEII’S
HIDDEN SECRETS.

RECORDS FOUND IN THE TOWN

TELL US THIS WAS
THE WOMEN’S BATHING SUITE.

CLOSED AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
OF 62 A.D., IT NEVER REOPENED.

TODAY IT’S AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL
STORAGE ROOM.

Beard: I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY BEEN
IN THE WOMEN’S BATHS BEFORE,

BUT ONE THING’S
FOR ABSOLUTELY SURE,

THAT THIS WAS NOWHERE NEAR
AS GRAND AS THE MEN’S QUARTERS.

Narrator: THE SIZE
AND DECORATION OF THESE BATHS

HAS A LOT TO SAY ABOUT
THE POSITION OF WOMEN

IN POMPEIIAN SOCIETY.

BUT THE STUFF IN HERE
CAN ALSO REVEAL TO US

DETAILS ABOUT
EVERYDAY POMPEIIAN LIFE.

Beard: THAT’S ANOTHER BIG ONE.

Narrator: PROFESSOR MARY BEARD
HAS BEEN GIVEN

SPECIAL PERMISSION
TO DIG AROUND.

Beard: THIS IS THE KIND OF STUFF
YOU JUST FIND EVERYWHERE

IN HOUSES IN POMPEII--

IN THE KITCHENS,
IN THE SERVANTS’ QUARTERS,

YEAH, IN THE BOTTOM
OF CUPBOARDS.

Narrator: AMONG THE BRIC-A-BRAC
OF EVERYDAY LIFE

IS THE REALITY
OF THE HUMAN TRAGEDY.

THESE SHELVES CONTAIN
OVER A HUNDRED SKULLS,

AND THIS WALL IS FULL OF BONES.

COLLECTED FROM ALL OVER THE TOWN
DURING THE EARLY EXCAVATIONS,

THESE ARE THE REMAINS OF PEOPLE
WHO COULDN’T BE CAST.

TODAY THEY ACT
AS A VIVID REMINDER

OF THE HUNDREDS OF ANONYMOUS
VICTIMS OF POMPEII.

EVERY ITEM HERE HAS
ITS OWN STORY TO TELL

ABOUT POMPEII’S DESTRUCTION.

THIS GIANT PILE
OF TINY PIECES OF STONE

IS THE REMNANT OF MOSAIC FLOORS,

SO PREVALENT IN POMPEII.

Beard: THE FUNNY THING IS

THAT THIS PRESUMABLY IS HOW
YOUR MOSAIC FLOOR WAS DELIVERED

IN THE FIRST PLACE--

THE BUILDERS BROUGHT ROUND
A WHOLE PILE OF THIS,

AND THEN THE LAYERS CAME

AND MADE IT INTO
A BEAUTIFUL PATTERN.

Narrator: THESE LEAD PIPES
WERE ONCE PART

OF THE TOWN’S LARGE
AND ELABORATE PLUMBING SYSTEM.

Beard: THE TRUTH IS
THAT RICH POMPEIIANS

WERE MORE CONCERNED

TO HAVE WATER DELIVERED
TO THEIR FOUNTAINS

THAN TO THEIR LAVATORIES,

AND YOU CAN’T HAVE PIPES
WITHOUT TAPS,

WHICH IS WHAT THESE ARE.

YOU CAN’T HELP THINKING
THAT IT WOULD BE

A REALLY GOOD TOWN
TO BE A PLUMBER IN.

[THUNDER]

Narrator: POMPEII
DIDN’T JUST NEED PLUMBERS.

THE MAJOR EARTHQUAKE
AND SUBSEQUENT TREMORS

KEPT THE TOWN’S PAINTERS AND
DECORATORS IN PLENTY OF WORK.

♪

IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY

WE CAN STILL FIND SOME
OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTS

THE DECORATORS USED
2,000 YEARS AGO.

Hales: THIS BLUE
IS REALLY POPULAR

IN THE WEALTHY HOUSES
OF THE CITY.

♪

HERE WE’VE GOT YELLOW...

SOME RED...

AND ALSO THIS EXTRAORDINARY
PINK COLOR.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT
ABOUT THESE COLORS

IS THEY TELL
VISITORS TO HOUSES

SOMETHING ABOUT THE INCOME
OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE,

BECAUSE LOTS OF THESE PIGMENTS
COME FROM OVERSEAS.

AND THAT MEANS IT MAKES IT
MORE DESIRABLE,

MORE LUXURIOUS AND,
OF COURSE, MORE EXPENSIVE.

Narrator: BUT ALL THE EXPENSIVE
MATERIALS IN THE WORLD

COULDN’T SAVE POMPEII.

SOME OF THESE PAINT POTS
WERE DISCOVERED ABANDONED

BY THIS HALF-FINISHED FRESCO.

♪

KNOWN TODAY AS THE HOUSE
OF THE PAINTERS AT WORK,

THIS SCENE IS A GRAPHIC REMINDER

OF HOW EVERYDAY LIFE
WAS SUDDENLY INTERRUPTED.

Wallace-Hadrill: ALL AROUND WERE
FOUND LITTLE POTS OF PAINT,

AND COMPASSES,
EVERYTHING YOU NEED

TO DO THE PRECISION WORK
OF PAINTING.

Narrator: IT’S THOUGHT
THAT WHEN THE WORKERS

FIRST HEARD THE RUMBLES
OF THE ERUPTION,

THEY ASSUMED IT WAS JUST
ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.

IN AN ATTEMPT TO PRESERVE
THEIR WORK,

THEY COVERED IT IN PLASTER,

PRESUMABLY HOPING
TO RETURN TO IT LATER.

Wallace-Hadrill:
YOU SEE HERE HOW THE FEET

HAVE BEEN SKETCHED OUT
IN YELLOW,

AND PRESUMABLY
THE WHOLE SCENE WAS DONE,

BUT THERE’S A SMEAR OF PLASTER
THAT COVERS HALF THE SCENE.

ONE EXPLANATION
IS THAT THE PAINTER

STARTS TO HEAR RUMBLES...

[RUMBLING]

AND HE THINKS TO HIMSELF,
"OH, ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.

MAYBE IF I PUT SOME PLASTER
OVER IT, I’LL KEEP IT FRESH,

AND THEN I CAN GET
BACK TO WORK."

Narrator: IN REALITY IT WOULD
TAKE ALMOST 2,000 YEARS

BEFORE ANYONE WOULD RETURN
TO THESE UNFINISHED FRESCOES,

AS THE TREMORS IN AUGUST 79 A.D.

WERE JUST A TASTE
OF THE ULTIMATE CATASTROPHE.

[EXPLOSION]

♪

WITH POMPEII IN THE GRIP
OF A MASSIVE RESTORATION PROGRAM

AND THE FORENSIC STUDY
DRAWING TO A CLOSE,

OUR COMPLETED AERIAL MAP CAN NOW
REVEAL THE SIZE AND SCALE

OF THE LOOMING DISASTER.

ALL OF THESE STREETS
AND BUILDINGS

AND MORE WHICH STILL LAY HIDDEN

WOULD BE LOST IN A BURNING CLOUD
OF ASH AND ROCK.

BUT OUR STUDY STILL HAS
ONE SECRET TO EXPOSE.

WHY DID THE 1,600 OR SO VICTIMS
OF POMPEII STAY PUT,

WHEN THOUSANDS OF OTHERS
MANAGED TO FLEE?

CAN OUR FINAL PAIR OF CASTS
HOLD THE KEY TO THIS MYSTERY?

THE EMBRACING COUPLE ARE PERHAPS
POMPEII’S MOST MOVING CASTS...

FOUND IN 1914 DESPERATELY
CLINGING TOGETHER,

OR SO IT SEEMS.

THEY ARE OFTEN THOUGHT
TO BE TWO WOMEN--

PERHAPS A MOTHER
WITH HER DAUGHTER

OR TWO SISTERS...

OR MAYBE JUST STRANGERS OFFERING
COMFORT IN THEIR LAST MOMENTS.

♪

[SCANNER BEEPING]

Beard: THEY’RE FOUND TOGETHER.

IS THERE ANY CLUE ABOUT
WHICH IS THE OLDER

AND WHICH IS THE YOUNGER?

Lazer: WELL, THIS ONE WAS
PRESUMED TO BE THE YOUNGER ONE

JUST BECAUSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE BONES.

AND THE TEETH ARE NOT
OF A VERY OLD PERSON,

SO THEIR WISDOM TEETH
AREN’T ERUPTED.

Narrator: ONCE AGAIN
THE VICTIMS OF POMPEII

TURN OUT TO BE YOUNG AND FIT.

AND WHAT’S EVEN MORE INTRIGUING
ARE THESE FEATURES ON THE SKULL.

KNOWN AS SUTURES, THEY INDICATE

WHERE THE BONES OF THE SKULL
FUSE TOGETHER.

COMPARING HER FINDINGS

WITH PREVIOUS STUDIES
OF SKELETONS IN POMPEII,

DR. ESTELLE LAZER DRAWS
A VERY TELLING CONCLUSION.

Lazer: ABOUT 20% OF POMPEIIANS
APPEAR WITH AN EXTRA BONE HERE

AND ABOUT 35% ON THIS SIDE
AND 39% ON THAT SIDE,

SO THEY’RE POPULATION MARKERS,

AND WHAT IT TELLS US
IS THAT THIS PERSON

WAS SHARING THE SAME ENVIRONMENT
WHEN GROWING UP.

♪

Narrator: THIS TELLS LAZER

THAT NEARLY 40% OF THE VICTIMS
STUDIED AT POMPEII

ARE PERHAPS NATIVE TO THE CITY--

A SURPRISING RESULT
FOR A BUSY PORT TOWN.

Beard: WHAT IT’S SUGGESTING THEN

IS THAT WE’VE GOT AT LEAST
A GOOD NUCLEUS OF PEOPLE HERE

WHO ARE POMPEIIANS,
BORN AND BRED.

Narrator: SO NOW WE FINALLY
HAVE A CLEARER PICTURE

OF WHO THE REAL VICTIMS
OF POMPEII WERE.

PERHAPS THEY WERE LOCALS,
LIKE THE EMBRACING COUPLE.

NATIVE TO POMPEII,

THEY JUST COULDN’T FACE
FLEEING THEIR HOMETOWN,

EVEN AS THE GIANT VOLCANO
TURNED THE DAY INTO NIGHT.

THE TINY TODDLER,
AT JUST THREE YEARS OLD,

ITS LIFE CUT SHORT,

ALONG WITH ITS YOUNG PARENTS
AND SIBLING,

AND WITH OTHERS,
LIKE THE MOOR AND BEGGAR--

NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.

PERHAPS THESE, TOO,
WERE BORN AND BRED HERE,

ALL RELUCTANT TO FLEE
THEIR HOMES AND BUSINESSES

BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY
HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO.

NOW THROUGH THE EFFORTS
OF THESE SCIENTISTS,

WE HAVE MORE INCREDIBLE INSIGHTS
ABOUT THESE SILENT WITNESSES

TO ONE OF THE GREAT CALAMITIES
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

Lazer: THEY’RE ORDINARY PEOPLE,
WE DON’T KNOW THEIR NAMES,

WE DON’T NECESSARILY KNOW
WHAT THEY DID FOR A LIVING,

BUT THEY’RE LIKE US.

AND I THINK THAT’S THE MOST
COMPELLING THING AT ALL.

IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT THERE’S
A 2,000-YEAR GAP BETWEEN US.

THEY’RE VERY, VERY EASY
TO RELATE TO,

AND I THINK THE FACT
THAT THE BONES ARE IN THERE

IS A SLIGHTLY SOBERING THING,

AND IT REMINDS PEOPLE

THAT THEY REALLY ARE LOOKING
AT THE REMAINS OF HUMAN BEINGS.

Narrator: 2,000 YEARS
AFTER ITS DESTRUCTION,

POMPEII IS REVEALING
MOVING TALES OF LIFE AND DEATH

IN A ROMAN CITY.

RICH AND POOR, YOUNG AND OLD,
THEIR STORIES OF DAILY LIFE

ARE PRESERVED IN THE SHADOW
OF THE GREAT VOLCANO, VESUVIUS.

Wallace-Hadrill: IT’S REAL LIFE,
IT’S REAL PEOPLE,

AND YOU GET IT WITH A VIVIDNESS
IN THIS SITE

THAT YOU CAN GET NOWHERE ELSE.